WWE WrestleMania 33

Bayley's run as Raw Women's Champion has been a dream come true, but she'll have to deny her best friend, her most ardent foe and an unstoppable force at WrestleMania to prevent a rude awakening. The beloved Raw Women's Champion will defend her title against Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Nia Jax in a Fatal 4-Way Match at WrestleMania 33 that began to take shape as far back as December. That's when Charlotte wrestled the title from Banks in a grueling WWE Iron Man Match, sending The Boss into a minor tailspin while Bayley rose up as The Queen's most prominent foe in the process. In a sense, perhaps it was always fated to be this way: The four most dominant figures of Raw's Women's division — the beloved champion, the dominant Queen, the rebounding Boss and the near-unstoppable Jax — finally clashing in an every-woman-for-herself battle. At the center of it all is Bayley, the dreamer who finally reached the mountaintop.
SmackDown Women's Champion Alexa Bliss is in for the title defense of her life this Sunday on the WrestleMania Kickoff. WWE's Wicked Witch will face Becky Lynch, Natalya, Mickie James, Carmella and, now, Naomi. The gigantic title bout came together after General Manager Daniel Bryan, in an effort to demonstrate that Team Blue is WWE's true land of opportunity, ruled that any woman on the SmackDown LIVE roster who is available to compete would be eligible to vie for the division's crown. Naomi, who forfeited the SmackDown Women's Title as a result of an injury, became the latest competitor added to the match when she returned by surprise on the March 28 edition of SmackDown LIVE. Now that she's back in action and determined to regain the title, will Naomi make the rest of her opponents “feel the glow” this Sunday, in her hometown of Orlando? Even though this probably isn't the WrestleMania dance card she hoped for, the fiery champion won't fall easily. Bliss’ hair-trigger temper would prompt a charging bull to change course, and with her back against the wall, it's frightening to think what she could resort to as she stares down the challenge of almost the entire Women's division.
When John Cena & Nikki Bella square off against The Miz & Maryse at WrestleMania 33, we will not only be seeing two couples of this variety collide, but also witnessing a knockdown, drag-out, awesome (no pun) melee with a ton of personal pride on the line for both sides, as they attempt to find out who SmackDown LIVE's “it” couple truly is. For years, Cena & Nikki did not acknowledge their relationship within WWE arenas. Total Divas or Total Bellas was one thing, SmackDown LIVE was another. However, after two-time Divas Champion Maryse brutally assaulted Nikki with a lead pipe, and Miz and Cena eliminated each other from the WWE Championship No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal, the rules suddenly changed. With these two conflicts merging, all four Superstars began to rip one another to shreds on the microphone. The Cenation Leader was a guest on “Miz TV” — the perfect time and place to badmouth The A-Lister. Miz followed with an appearance on Talking Smack, which proved to be an excellent opportunity for him to tell the WWE Universe why he believed Cena is a “robot” whose relationship is manufactured for the benefit of reality TV cameras. Fearless Nikki told Maryse to keep her hands off her man; Maryse retorted by calling Nikki Bella a fraud. In between the smack-talk and these tumultuous physical exchanges, a massive WrestleMania match has been made. Can Cena & Nikki shut up Miz & Maryse once and for all? Or, will The Miz repeat his performance from WrestleMania XXVII, where he retained the WWE Championship over Cena, and push him and his bride to victory?
==Event recap==
===Raw Women's Championship 4-Way Elimination Match===
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Hours before defending the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania, Bayley tweeted that she watched The Show of Shows as a child and felt like it was on another planet. At 2017’s edition of WrestleMania, Bayley was the center of the WWE Universe, and a childhood dream became reality as she successfully defended her title in a grueling Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match, defeating Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax.
The Hugger Section was out in full force as the champion entered the arena, draped in a cape covered in fringe reminiscent of “Macho Man” Randy Savage and blowing in the Orlando air, along with her wacky, waving, inflatable Bayley Buddies.
Charlotte Flair, who paid homage to the entrance made by her legendary father, Ric Flair, in the final match of his career at WrestleMania XXIV, joined the champion and Banks in ganging up on Nia Jax. However, the monstrous Superstar fought them all off before crushing Bayley and hurling Flair onto Banks and Bayley at ringside. Despite the differences between them over years of rivalry and friendship, Charlotte, Banks and Bayley joined forces to fell the towering Jax with a triple powerbomb to eliminate her from the bout.
After Jax’s ouster, however, any teamwork that had existed went out the window, with Flair exiting the ring and forcing Bayley and Banks to battle each other. The epic struggle quickly spilled to the outside, where The Boss flattened Bayley and Charlotte dazzled the sold-out Orlando Citrus Bowl with a picture-perfect twisting moonsault from the top turnbuckle.
Back in the ring, Charlotte turned the tables in her favor by exposing the middle turnbuckle, which she later sent The Boss into face-first, and thereby put an end to Banks’ hopes of regaining the Raw Women’s Championship.
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The Queen returned to the top rope, but crashed onto the canvas as Bayley evaded a moonsault. However, Flair quickly recovered and trapped the champion in the Figure-Four Leg Lock. Charlotte focused her offense on Bayley’s left knee, hoping to lock the Figure Eight on the weakened champion and begin her fifth reign with the title.
However, there would be no stopping Bayley from realizing her lifelong dream at The Ultimate Thrill Ride. The champion untangled herself from the ropes, climbed up to the top and took a leap of faith. Just like Randy Savage, Bayley connected with an Elbow Drop to retain her title.
WrestleMania is the platform on which the biggest dreams come true. For Bayley, though, there’s no time to rest on her laurels. The rest of the Raw Women’s division will surely be targeting her and her title. Can she ride the high of WrestleMania glory to bigger and better things?
===John Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse===
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After proving themselves the true “It” couple by defeating The Miz & Maryse in an action-packed WrestleMania Mixed Tag Team Match, John Cena & Nikki Bella got engaged on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
In the months preceding The Show of Shows, The A-Lister and his devious spouse made it their mission to paint a picture of Cena and Nikki as nothing more than “fake” and “power-grabbing,” a sentiment they brought to life in a series of scathing mic rants and Total Bellas parodies.
For their part, The Cenation Leader and Fearless Nikki maintained that Miz had stolen everything he was from other, “more talented” competitors, while Maryse had never really done anything at all. As a result, WrestleMania became an opportunity for each couple to show their opponents, the WWE Universe and themselves what they were truly all about.
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The contest kicked off with special guest ring announcer Al Roker of NBC’s TODAY Show commanding center stage. However, once the bell rang, it was all about the players. Miz and Maryse began by playing mind games on Nikki and Cena. This allowed the gloating A-Lister to gain the early advantage on The Leader of the Cenation, an edge he would maintain throughout much of the match. Even when Cena made it to his corner to attempt to tag in Nikki, Maryse prevented it by attacking his lady love from behind.
Things took a drastic turn, though, when Nikki suddenly slapped the taste right out of Miz’s mouth. Cena tagged in Nikki, and the Fearless Superstar took charge. From there, it was all downhill for The A-Lister couple, as Cena and Nikki executed a double Knuckle Shuffle, followed by Cena hitting the Attitude Adjustment and Nikki delivering the Rack Attack 2.0 for the double pin.
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As the dust cleared and it looked like the excitement of their victory had reached its zenith, Cena decided to tell Nikki and the capacity crowd at the Orlando Citrus Bowl a story. He revealed that when she was being wheeled into surgery last year, he asked a groggy Nikki if she knew that he would one day marry her. Cena then proceeded to drop to one knee in the ring and deliver a bombshell by asking Nikki to do just that. In front of a worldwide audience, Nikki instantly said yes, and the pair embraced.
In the wake of the huge news, the happy couple not only proved themselves victorious both in the ring and in life, but they’ve also made a WrestleMania Moment that will never be forgotten.
===Seth Rollins vs. Triple H===
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The King has been slain, and “The Man” is free once again.
Seth Freakin’ Rollins redesigned his outlook and rebuilt his pride at WrestleMania, defeating his former mentor Triple H in a Non-Sanctioned Match that finally allowed The Architect to free himself of The Game’s influence once and for all.
Rollins’ mission was clear from the start. After The King of Kings entered on a chopper — with Stephanie McMahon on the back and a full police escort — Rollins carried a torch to the ring, symbolic of his oft-stated promise to burn his opponent to the ground. From there, he immediately made good on the leeway The Game’s Hold Harmless Agreement afforded him, driving Triple H out of the ring and over the barricade.
Triple H responded in kind, taking advantage of a step-slower-than-usual Rollins to DDT him on top of a commentary table before smashing a steel chair into his injured right knee. Rollins successfully grinded his way to a running buckle bomb that took all the wind out of The Game’s sails and led to a strong offensive run. However, the question still lingered as to whether Rollins would irreparably damage his own knee in his efforts to defeat The King of Kings.
Rollins managed to keep The Game at bay when tables and chairs came into the equation, but it was the interference of Stephanie McMahon that almost doomed The Architect — twice. Stephanie first tripped Rollins off the turnbuckle and allowed The Game to trap him in a pair of reverse Figure-Four Leglocks. Later, she wrenched Triple H’s sledgehammer out of Rollins’ hands, leading The Architect into a Pedigree that nearly sealed his fate.
At this point, The Game began to show as much wear and tear as his foe. A thwarted second-rope Pedigree left Triple H incapacitated long enough for Rollins to hit a Phoenix Splash that, again, nearly left him unable to walk despite the damage it inflicted. The match quickly devolved from there into a Pedigree-off, with Triple H going low to escape the maneuver. Once again, Stephanie interfered by holding Rollins on the apron. This time, though, The Architect was ready. He dodged Triple H’s cheap shot, superkicked him into Stephanie, who crashed through a table, and finally executed the Pedigree that slayed The King of Kings and cemented his emancipation.
Now that Seth Rollins finds himself walking his own path, truly, for the first time in his career, all that’s left to do is rebuild himself in whatever image he sees fit. What will his first move be?
===SmackDown Women's Championship Six-Pack Challenge===
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Home is where the heart is. For Naomi, it’s also where she won back the SmackDown Women’s Championship by defeating Alexa Bliss, Natalya, Carmella, Becky Lynch and Mickie James in a Six-Pack Challenge at WrestleMania.
Given the chaotic and competitive state of the SmackDown Women’s Title picture over the last few months, a Six-Pack Challenge – where the first person to gain a pinfall or submission is declared the victor – made for a fitting contest. It was also a bout that started with all six Superstars brawling in the squared circle, then hurling each other onto the outside floor.
With Lynch alone in the ring, James Ellsworth thought it would be a good idea to attempt a superkick. Unfortunately for Carmella’s cohort, The Irish Lass Kicker blocked the kick and suplexed him from the ring.thumb|right|335 px
As the action continued outside the squared circle, Naomi took advantage by launching herself over the top rope and onto all five of her fellow competitors. The glowing Superstar would go for the knockout blow back in the ring, but the fiery Alexa Bliss denied her with a vicious right forearm to Naomi’s jaw.
The champion went in to capitalize, but Naomi countered and pounced, locking her rival in a fierce submission hold. Naomi cinched in the unforgiving maneuver, and ultimately left a pained Bliss no choice but to tap out.
After an injury forced her to relinquish the title she won at WWE Elimination Chamber, Naomi battled back to return to ring action last week and become a two-time champion. She also left the WWE Universe basking in her glow at The Ultimate Thrill Ride.
==Match results==
* Fatal-4-Way elimination match for the Raw Women's Championship: Bayley (c) defeated Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, and Sasha Banks (12:45)
* Mixed tag team match: John Cena and Nikki Bella defeated The Miz and Maryse (9:40)
* Non-sanctioned match: Seth Rollins defeated Triple H (with Stephanie McMahon) (25:30)
* Six-pack challenge for the SmackDown Women's Championship: Naomi defeated Alexa Bliss (c), Becky Lynch, Carmella (with James Ellsworth), Mickie James, and Natalya Neidhart by submission (5:35)
Category:WWE pay-per-view events
Category:2017 pay-per-view events
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Category:Women's matches in WWE
Category:Nikki Bella & John Cena vs. Maryse & The Miz rivalry
Category:Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss rivalry
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