WrestleMania 37 is the culmination of a year of build for WWE . The event has always been carried by the weight of expectations. The Show of Shows is the night when big things happen, and that includes character changes that no one can forget...
WWE WrestleMania 37 Matches: Predicting Star Ratings for Every Fight on the Card
Apr 8, 2021
WrestleMania is usually the most stacked show on WWE's pay-per-view calendar, and this year's WrestleMania 37 will be no different, especially since it is a two-night event.
With 14 matches announced over the course of two nights at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, the potential is present for at least a few of those bouts to be among the best in WWE and all of wrestling in 2021.
As WWE's top Superstars prepare to perform on The Grandest Stage of Them All, here is a full rundown of predictions for how every match on the WrestleMania 37 card will grade out on a five-star scale.
Intercontinental Championship Nigerian Drum Fight - Big E vs. Apollo Crews - 4.25 stars
Kevin Owens vs. SamiZayn - 3.75 stars
United States Championship: Riddle vs. Sheamus - 3.5 stars
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship: Shayna Baszler and NiaJax vs. Tag Team Turmoil winners - 2.25 stars
Breaking Down Top WrestleMania 37 Matches
The above predictions list four out of the 14 announced WrestleMania matches grading out at 4.5 stars or better, which would make WrestleMania 37 one of the best of all time from an in-ring perspective.
There is no guarantee they will deliver, but Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan for the Universal Championship, Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's Championship, Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley for the Raw Women's Championship and Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins all have show-stealing potential.
Reigns vs. Edge vs. Bryan will almost certainly headline Night 2 of WrestleMania, meaning it will likely get the most time and could prove to be the best match as well.
All three Superstars are among the best WWE has to offer in terms of in-ring and character work, and they have meshed so well leading up to WrestleMania that it is difficult to envision their match being anything short of spectacular.
Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit at WrestleMania 20 is the standard-bearer for WrestleMania Triple Threats, but Reigns, Edge and Bryan could surpass it.
Both Women's Championship matches at WrestleMania 37 have show-stealing potential as well, and they could prove to be two of the best women's matches in WrestleMania history.
The most highly anticipated among them is Banks vs. Belair for the SmackDown Women's title, which could a should main event Night 1.
If that happens, it will be only the second women's main event in WrestleMania history, joining Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair from WrestleMania 35.
Banks and Belair may feel like they have plenty to prove Saturday, as it will be Banks' first singles match at WrestleMania and Belair's star-making moment. Given the motivation and how well their styles figure to work together, Sasha and Bianca could put on a five-star classic.
The Raw Women's title match between Asuka and Ripley hasn't been built up as much as Banks vs. Belair, but the dynamic is similar with the up-and-comer looking to take down the established star.
Ripley and Charlotte had one of the greatest women's matches in WrestleMania history last year, and there is no reason to think she can't repeat the feat this time around with The Empress of Tomorrow.
Finally, Cesaro and Rollins may not be fighting for a title, but they are two of the best in the world and figure to put on a show.
Cesaro and Rollins are friends in real life, and that chemistry should help them in the ring along with the fact that they have had an entertaining feud leading up to WrestleMania.
Every WrestleMania needs an undercard match or two capable of stealing the show, and Cesaro vs. Rollins is precisely that.
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WWE WrestleMania Rumors: Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair Deserve Night 1 Main Event
Apr 7, 2021
It is abundantly clear that the Triple Threat match for the Universal Championship between Roman Reigns, Edge and Daniel Bryan will be the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 37 on Sunday, but some question remains regarding which match will headline Saturday's Night 1.
There are two bouts with a legitimate chance to go on last Saturday in the form of Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship and Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's Championship.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Israel Lutete of SportsKeeda), Banks vs. Belair is "being positioned in many card rundowns as the main event."
While it is unclear precisely what that means, the report seems to suggest that Banks vs. Belair is being listed internally as the headliner for Night 1 of WrestleMania, which likely means the plan is for Banks and Belair to go on last that night.
If that proves to be true, it will be the right decision on WWE's part.
Belair has been one of the fastest-rising stars in WWE for the past few years, but she has yet to win a title of any kind on the main roster or in NXT. Many fans believe she should have had a run with the NXT Women's Championship, but it never came to fruition.
That could prove to be a good thing since Belair's supporters are now desperate for her to receive the recognition she deserves by becoming a champion.
She took a big step toward it at the Royal Rumble by winning the 2021 Women's Royal Rumble match from the No. 3 spot. In the process, she became the first Black woman to win the Rumble and the second Black person overall to win a Rumble match, joining The Rock.
On the subject of representation, Banks vs. Belair will be the first singles match between two Black women in WrestleMania history, and such a significant moment would benefit from the biggest spotlight possible.
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35 remains the only women's main event match in WrestleMania history, so Banks vs. Belair would be the first one-on-one women's match to headline WrestleMania as well.
WWE has been building toward the match for several weeks, giving it a longer setup than Lashley vs. McIntyre. It is also a match that has never been seen before, whereas Lashley and McIntyre had a singles match for the WWE title last year.
The importance and freshness of Belair vs. Banks gives it the edge, as does the fact that it has a legitimate chance to be the best match of WrestleMania 37, and perhaps the best women's match to ever take place at The Showcase of the Immortals.
Although the bout will largely focus on putting The EST over and giving her a WrestleMania moment, Banks has worked hard for years to get to this point as well and has earned a main event match.
Along with Lynch, Flair and Bayley, Banks helped put women's wrestling on the map in WWE more than ever before. She also helped carry the women's division through the COVID-19 pandemic, appearing on SmackDown, Raw and NXT during that time.
Despite everything The Boss has accomplished, she has never had a one-on-one match at WrestleMania.
Another factor to consider is the logic of having Lashley and McIntyre go on first on Night 1 of WrestleMania, especially considering what happened to McIntyre last year.
The Scotsman was supposed to finally reach the top of the mountain in WWE by beating Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship in front of thousands of screaming fans. McIntyre did beat Lesnar, but no fans were in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It will be a massive moment when the first Superstar makes their entrance at WrestleMania 37, as it will mark the first entrance in front of fans in over a year.
McIntyre deserves that spot after getting robbed of his big moment last year, and the fact that WWE has another strong match on the card in Belair vs. Banks gives even more incentive to put Drew out there first.
Everything is working in favor of Banks and Belair entering WrestleMania, and there should be nothing standing in the way of WWE giving them the opportunity to have one of the biggest women's matches of all time.
Listen toRing Rust Radiofor all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below(warning: some language NSFW).
Analyzing Women's Division's Place on WWE WrestleMania 37 Match Card
Apr 6, 2021
Five years ago, the WWE women's division was on a monumental upswing as the company reintroduced what would become the Raw Women's Championship. In the process, it officially ended its most regressive and creatively bankrupt period, the Divas era.
Since then, viewers have come to expect much more after superstars like Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair created a new lane for generations to come.
Somewhere along the way, though, the company started to rest on its laurels again, and it's hard to understand why.
In 2018, the division reached its zenith with the addition of Ronda Rousey, who made her surprise debut in January. In the same year, WWE hosted the first women's Royal Rumble match, the second Mae Young Classic, its first-ever all-women pay-per-view (Evolution) and established women's tag titles. Then, it capped it off the following April with the first WrestleMania card to feature women in the main event.
It would be dishonest to say the company hasn't had its highlights over the last few years, but it has clearly taken a step back since Rousey went on hiatus after WrestleMania 35.
It's a shame there hasn't been a follow-up to Evolution yet or the 32-competitor tournament that introduced the WWE Universe to names such as Io Shirai, Tegan Nox, Kacey Catanzaro and many more. And there has also been a noticeable lack of dimension to the stories and characters on Raw, in particular.
The lackluster setup for both women's title matches
If you need proof of how much the women's segments have declined, look no further than the build, or lack thereof, for the matches at WrestleMania this year.
Rhea Ripley just showed up to challenge Asuka, who has been an afterthought for months, two weeks ago to set up their showdown for the upcoming event. WWE then lazily put them in a tag team, where they (unsurprisingly) couldn't coexist, as it has done with several other women lately.
In fact, this is essentially the same plot device it used to generate animosity between Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks. This uninspired decision sapped all of the energy out of The EST of WWE's feelgood Royal Rumble win.
Moreover, WWE hasn't taken the time to express how important this historic matchup for the SmackDown Women's Championship is. Two Black women will compete in a one-on-one match for a world title on The Grandest Stage of Them All for the first time in the history of the show.
It's frustrating that the company hasn't promoted the match or given it the reverence it is due. The significance of this occasion should supersede the company's inability to create a compelling story around it. To that end, this should be the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania. Sadly, WWE has made it clear that honor will be reserved for Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre. That feels like a colossal mistake given the progress this signifies for Black women in professional wrestling.
Last month, fans created the hashtag #BanksVsBelairMainEvent to push for a chance to see these two talented women headline the event, and superstars like Bayley and Mia Yim shared it. Women's wrestling legend and WWE Hall of FamerAlundra Blayze also took to Twitter to make the case that the SmackDown Women's Championship match should be the main event. That's surreal when you consider the fact that WWE credits the outcry of #GiveDivasAChance as the catalyst for the Women's Revolution.
After the Winner Take All match at WrestleMania 35, how did we get to a place where we have to create a movement to demand equal opportunities for women again? Isn't this the natural progression to Lynch, Rousey and Charlotte Flair breaking the glass ceiling, or are we to believe that was a one-time occurrence?
The absence of strong secondary feuds
The uninteresting build toward both the Raw and SmackDown women's title matches is galling, but the absence of secondary feuds is also baffling.
Until Monday night, WWE had only announced two women's matches for the two-night Show of Shows. During a recent appearance on The Bump, Carmella expressed her disappointment, and Natalya declared, "WrestleMania season needs to be about the women of WWE" on last week's episode of Talking Smack (h/t Gisberto Guzzo of Fightful).
The two former SmackDown women's champions' pleas seemingly found their mark as WWE added a tag team turmoil match to Saturday night's card. Four, possibly five, teams will compete for a shot at Nia Jax and Shayna Bazler on Sunday for the women's tag titles. This is a much-needed change to the upcoming festivities, but it's troubling that the company announced it in the same week as WrestleMania.
Furthermore, this seems strangely reminiscent of the multi-women matches that plagued the Divas Era. There is no attempt to generate interest in its participants, and it works solely as a means to add a large group of women to the card.
These women belong on The Showcase of the Immortals, but the company's failure to allow them to establish engaging stories does them a disservice.
It is also disheartening that no team stands out in a tag division that desperately needs a pair of flag-bearers to elevate it to the next level. The WWE Women's Tag Team Championships have been around for two years, but we still haven't seen a meaningful rivalry for the belts. As such, the titles still feel like a novelty as opposed to an integral part of the company's programming.
Where is Bayley?
Lastly, it is a travesty that Bayley doesn't have a match this weekend. The longest-reigning SmackDown women's champion was one of the MVPs during the pandemic era and ranked No. 1 on the 2020 PWI Women's 100. So, it's hard to believe WWE couldn't book her for the biggest show of the event after everything she accomplished last year.
Her current character bears some resemblance to another short-hair villainess from the Attitude Era who is entering the Hall of Fame this week, Molly Holly. Why not pit them against each other in a passing-of-the-torch moment similar to Flair vs. Trish Stratus from SummerSlam 2019?
If the company didn't want to go that route, there were other options, but Bayley should have the chance to secure another WrestleMania moment. The fact that she doesn't is indicative of the poor job WWE has done utilizing women on Raw and SmackDown this year and, hopefully, that will improve.
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WWE WrestleMania 37: Predicting Match Order for Saturday and Sunday Cards
Apr 2, 2021
Much of the card for Night 1 and Night 2 of WrestleMania 37 has been announced, which has naturally led to speculation regarding what order the matches will play out.
WWE has already determined which matches will be happening on which night, and while further contests are likely to be announced in the coming days, the bulk of the card is officially in place.
As of now, WWE has allocated six matches to Night 1 of The Show of Shows and six bouts to Night 2 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Based on the matches that have been announced thus far, here is a full prediction of the match order for both nights of WrestleMania, as well as further analysis of some of the more intriguing placements.
Predicted Night 1 Match Order
Raw Tag Team Championships: New Day (c) vs. AJ Styles & Omos
Bad Bunny vs. The Miz
Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro
Steel Cage match: Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon
WWE Championship: Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
SmackDown Women's Championship: Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bianca Belair
Predicted Night 2 Match Order
Raw Women's Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
United States Championship: Riddle (c) vs. Sheamus
Kevin Owens vs. SamiZayn
Intercontinental Championship: Big E (c) vs. Apollo Crews
Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan
Breaking Down Predicted Match Placement
New Day vs. AJ Styles and Omos
Since WrestleMania 37 will be the first WWE event with live fans in over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making the first match on Night 1 a good one will be paramount.
WrestleVotes reported that the company considers the first entrance at this year's Showcase of the Immortals such a big deal that it is considering having no matches on the kickoff show for Night 1 and making the first bout on the main card the first one overall.
If that turns out to be the case, then WWE needs a strong entrance and a strong act to go out first in order to get the biggest pop possible from the live crowd.
The WWE Championship match between Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre is a distinct possibility since the Scot would likely get a huge reactionBut, with Night 1 being a little light on marquee matches, it may be better served later on the card.
If it isn't McIntyre vs. Lashley, that leaves the Raw Tag Team Championships match between The New Day and the team of AJ Styles and Omos as the best option.
New Day are one of the most popular and accomplished tag teams of all time, plus they always go all-out at WrestleMania when it comes to elaborate entrances and gear, so they should have no problem getting cheered in a big way.
Meanwhile, Styles remains one of the best in-ring workers in the world, and he is used to going on early at The Show of Shows and delivering, which was the case in matches against Chris Jericho, Shane McMahon and Randy Orton at previous WrestleManias.
This match has all the ingredients needed for a great opener, and it should get WrestleMania 37 off to an ideal start.
Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair
While the Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns, Edge and Daniel Bryan is a slam dunk to headline Night 2, there has been some debate about who should be the main event of Night 1 on April 10.
A strong case can be made for Lashley vs. McIntyre, especially since the latter main-evented Night 2 last year and was essentially robbed of his big moment, as he beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship in front of no fans.
The Scottish Warrior has been the face of Raw for the past year, and headlining in front of fans this year is something he has earned.
At the same time, McIntyre vs. Lashley is a match that already happened last year, and there seemingly isn't as much excitement surrounding it as the SmackDown Women's Championship match between Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair.
That match will be a first-ever affair featuring an up-and-coming star in 2021 women's Royal Rumble winner Belair and a figure who helped carry the women's division through the pandemic in Banks.
By the time Banks vs. Belair happens, it will have been about six weeks since the match was made official, meaning it will also have had far more build than McIntyre vs. Lashley.
It can be argued that WWE has made a mess of the build by involving Reginald and forcing Banks and Belair to team up twice on pay-per-view only to lose, but things have started to pick up in recent weeks with the combatants slapping each other and The Boss taking on more of a heel persona.
In terms of match quality, Banks vs. Belair has a chance to be the best bout at WrestleMania 37, plus the likelihood of The EST of WWE winning and having her star-making moment is something befitting of the main event.
Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley
Since Reigns, Edge and Bryan headlining Night 2 on April 11 is pretty much set in stone, the main decision that has to be made is which match will go on first.
Last year, Charlotte Flair beat Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship in the opening match of Night 2 of WrestleMania 36, and a strong argument can be made for that being the best non-cinematic match on the card.
The Nightmare is out for retribution this year in the form of taking the Raw women's title from Asuka, and that is a match capable of whipping the crowd into a frenzy to kick off Night 2.
Unlike Night 1, there is a bit more depth on Night 2, meaning there is room to put a marquee match like Asuka and Ripley atop the card.
Also, much like New Day, Asuka is a beloved babyface with an entrance the fans can get into, making her an ideal candidate to be the first person through the curtain.
Ripley vs. Charlotte holds up as one of the greatest opening matches in WrestleMania history, and given how fantastic both the Australian and Asuka are in the ring, they have a chance to inject themselves into that conversation as well.
Also, like Belair vs. Banks, there is seemingly a good chance of a new star being born in the form of Ripley, and having a title change kick off the show is a good way to pump up the crowd.
Considering there is no chance for Asuka and Ripley to go on last for Night 2 of WrestleMania, going on first is the next best thing.
Listen toRing Rust Radiofor all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below(warning: some languageNSFW).
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