WWE WrestleMania 32

Last July, Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch sparked a revolution. Arriving to WWE at the exact same moment, the three NXT alumnae immediately dug in their heels and put the Divas division's old guard on notice: Change had arrived. Months removed from their historic debuts, the significance of the uprising is more obvious than ever, as Charlotte — now the reigning Divas Champion — gets set to defend the title against The Boss and The Irish Lass Kicker in a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania. The match was made official on March 3 after a No. 1 Contender's Rematch between Becky and Sasha on SmackDown ended in controversy, thanks to interference by Charlotte.
Regardless of what Charlotte's intentions were, her actions resulted in her now having to face not one, but two challengers on The Grandest Stage of Them All. On-off rivals and teammates since their earliest days in NXT, all three Divas have been linked together since the start. Yet, each brings a unique fighting style and distinct motivation to WrestleMania's Divas Championship Match.
Battle lines have been drawn. “Total Divas” Brie Bella, Paige, Natalya, Alicia Fox & Eva Marie will attempt to put aside their differences long enough to take down the squad of B.A.D. & Blonde, featuring Lana, Naomi, Tamina, Emma & Summer Rae, this Sunday on the WrestleMania Kickoff. The match will take place during the second hour of the Kickoff live on USA Network, as well as for free on WWE.com, the WWE App, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+. With seemingly incompatible elements on both sides, the newly confirmed match is proof that common enemies can lead to the unlikeliest of partnerships.
The bout also marks the in-ring debut of the Diva who sparked the war in the first place: Lana. The Ravishing Russian began targeting Brie Bella weeks ago, and soon aligned herself with Team B.A.D. Though Lana's campaign against Brie began with one of her characteristic verbal assaults, in a surprise move, it then turned physical, with Lana ambushing the former Divas Champion and using the Bella Twin's own signature move against her. The trio's brash behavior rankled their peers, even to the point where known Bella nemesis Paige agreed to side with Brie if it meant getting her hands on The Ravishing Russian.
A WrestleMania challenge was laid out by the Total Divas on March 21, leaving Lana & Team B.A.D. scrambling to find a fourth partner. It didn't take the nefarious Divas long, however, as Emma and Summer Rae made their allegiances known the next night when they shockingly attacked Natalya and Alicia. The addition of Summer Rae raised eyebrows, considering her hostile history with Lana, but B.A.D. and Blonde nonetheless appeared confident as they maintained a numbers advantage against the Total Divas. That is, until a certain crimson-haired member of the “Total Divas” cast made her presence felt on the March 28 edition of Raw. The ever-polarizing Eva Marie — seen most recently competing in NXT — returned to WWE to help the Total Divas fight off a 5-on-4 attack. Begrudgingly, Brie, Paige, Natalya & Alicia accepted Eva Marie's overture, setting in motion WrestleMania's 10-Diva brawl.
Will Eva Marie prove to be the difference maker? Can Lana back up her verbal attacks when she steps in the ring for the first time? And will the teammates on either side even be able to co-exist? Watch this 10-Diva Tag Team Match take center stage when the WrestleMania Kickoff Show.
==Event recap==
===10-Diva Tag Team Match===
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Brie Bella sealed a WrestleMania Kickoff win for Team Total Divas against Team B.A.D. & Blonde in a 10-Superstar Tag Team Match with the “Yes!” Lock.
Lana, making her in-ring debut, accomplished the one thing no one thought was possible: She got all of the Total Divas to see eye-to-eye.
The Ravishing Russian earned the ire of Brie Bella by targeting her in the weeks after Daniel Bryan’s sudden retirement. Lana’s cruel insults and alliance with Team B.A.D., Summer Rae and Emma united Brie’s “Total Divas” castmates Alicia Fox, Natalya, Eva Marie and even longtime Bella rival Paige.
Team Total Divas took control early on, as Alicia Fox pounded Summer Rae with devastating forearms and Eva Marie spun Emma around the ring with dizzying headscissors. Emma managed to flip the momentum back onto her side by trapping Natalya in the Team B.A.D. & Blonde corner.
Naomi entered the fray and hit The Queen of Harts with a barrage of kicks before Natalya caught her with a crushing dropkick, then teamed with Paige for a Hart Attack – an homage to Natalya’s father, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, and uncle Bret Hart, aka The Hart Foundation.thumb|right|335 px
Lana was no pushover in her in-ring debut, knocking Paige to the mat repeatedly with roundhouse kicks, and dodging a crossbody from Paige that bowled over Lana’s four teammates.
Chaos ensued immediately after Brie Bella entered the match and all the Superstar connected with their signature maneuvers. With Brie down, Naomi foolishly tried to toy with her opponent, allowing Brie to trap her in the “Yes!” Lock for the win.
As Team Total Divas hoisted Brie onto their shoulders, her sister Nikki returned to celebrate with her castmates, marking the storybook ending to a chaotic series of weeks for Brie.
===Lita introduces the WWE Women's Championship===
thumb|right|335 pxLita introduced the all-new WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania, and revealed that Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch will compete for this title tonight.
With the announcement comes a rich history of female competitors who have made their mark on the sports-entertainment industry.
The lineage of female champions dates back to September 1965, when legendary WWE Hall of Famer The Fabulous Moolah began an astounding 28-year run with the title. Her successor, fellow WWE Hall of Famer Wendi Richter, defended the championship at the inaugural WrestleMania with pop star Cyndi Lauper in her corner in an event that melded the worlds of rock ‘n’ roll and sports-entertainment. Legendary women like Trish Stratus, Alundra Blayze, Lita and Jacqueline followed in those footsteps, proudly carrying the title en route to WWE Hall of Fame enshrinement themselves.
The championship has now undergone an incredible evolution. Modeled after the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the WWE Women’s Title contains 283 stones positioned on a striking, white leather strap and a sleek, metallic recreation of WWE’s logo, which was constructed with assistance from Orange County Choppers of “American Chopper” fame.
Simply put, it is the perfect prize for exceptional athletes and role models, who are admired and idolized around the world.
To add to that amazing announcement, Lita also revealed that WWE female athletes will now be known as "Superstars" — a status deserving of their history of extraordinary accomplishments.
===WWE Women's Championship Triple Threat Match===
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WWE’s newest championship now belongs to one of sports-entertainment’s most influential families.
Charlotte secured her place in the WWE history books at WrestleMania Sunday evening by winning the Triple Threat Match to determine the first-ever WWE Women’s Champion. The Flair family scion secured victory via submission after forcing Becky Lynch to tap out to the Figure-Eight Leglock, while Banks was restrained at ringside by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.
Though she arrived at AT&T Stadium as the reigning Divas Champion, Charlotte, as well as her adversaries and the WWE Universe, learned early in the evening that a new title would be up for grabs in the highly-anticipated Triple Threat Match. During an in-ring segment on the WrestleMania Kickoff, WWE Hall of Famer Lita revealed two major changes to the competitive climate for all of WWE’s female grapplers.
“The Divas Revolution, they are so much more than Divas in this ring,” Lita said. “Today, they are all WWE Superstars. So, it is with my great honor to let you know: Tonight, the winner of the Triple Threat [Match] will be the recipient of the [new] WWE Women’s Championship.”
Lita’s historic announcement only added fuel to the fiery rivalry between the NXT alums which has engulfed nearly all of 2016. Becky Lynch has tried – and repeatedly failed – to knock Charlotte from the apex since their first championship encounter at Royal Rumble 2016. Her struggles against the Flair family scion eventually emboldened Sasha Banks, who made her intentions known that she wanted a chance to succeed where Lynch had faltered.
After preparing to fend off both aspiring challengers at WrestleMania, Charlotte then learned her Divas Championship reign would end by official decree. Rather than competing as a reigning titleholder, the Charlotte, N.C., native instead became the third and final contender for an unprecedented opportunity to make WWE history on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
The enthusiasm for this encounter hit a fever pitch even before the opening bell, with the Superstars in this bout making a memorable entrance for each of their respective WrestleMania debuts. The Irish Lass Kicker came out in a steampunk style, while Sasha Banks received a warm introduction from her WWE Hall of Fame cousin, Snoop Dogg. Then, Charlotte reclaimed the spotlight for herself with a scintillating blue-and-white robe, cut from the literal cloth of the iconic robe worn by Ric Flair in his last match at WrestleMania XXIV.
Then, the bell rang and the real battle for supremacy started in earnest — and with a series of spectacular pinfall attempts and reversals which nearly ended the clash before it even started. No Superstar found an early edge because a third party always stepped forward to bring any budding momentum to a halt. Charlotte finally gained footing after dragging Banks out of the ring and then throwing her into the bottom rope.
Charlotte held her ground despite the persistent efforts of her fellow NXT alums. Most notably, she held on after suffering a Five-Star Frog Splash by Banks, whose outfit for WrestleMania paid homage to her grappling idol, Eddie Guerrero. Moments later, she used Ric Flair as a shield on the floor when Lynch dove at her from above.
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The match reached its climax as the three opponents battled on a ring post near the entrance ramp. A final Bexplex attempt by Lynch proved fruitless, followed by a Backstabber and Bank Statement by The Boss that yielded no dividends. Moments later, Charlotte locked in her signature Figure-Eight Leglock on The Irish Lass Kicker, which proved to be too much for Lynch — and too far for Banks to reach, as the Boston native was restrained by the elder Flair while his offspring secured victory via submission.
With her victory, Charlotte becomes the first Superstar to win a championship in his or her WrestleMania debut since Mickie James seized the original Women’s Title from Trish Stratus at WrestleMania 22. The new Women’s Champion will also be listed as WWE’s final Divas Champion, concluding a 196-day reign which will stand as the fifth longest in the now-deactivated title’s history.
===Roman Reigns vs. Triple H===
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Thrust in front of a scarily focused Cerebral Assassin who was competing in his 20th WrestleMania match, Reigns entered before a judgmental crowd and showed no indication that the gravity of this predicament had affected him.
Moments earlier, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion had been introduced to the WWE Universe by Stephanie McMahon, who stood on a stone pillar with a skull mask on her face and ordered each person in attendance to get on their knees and grovel at the feet of her chosen king.
Although he was flanked by an army of drones in skeleton hoods with WWE World Heavyweight Titles slung across their shoulders, The Game himself wore no elaborate costume, no facemask — just his trunks and boots. The message that simplicity sent was clear. He was here only to fight.
When Reigns entered, the reaction was undoubtedly mixed. Some cheered, some booed, but it was impossible not to watch with awe as the bombast of fireworks erupted across the entirety of AT&T Stadium. In small towns around Dallas, folks were suddenly aware that something important was happening.
The men met in the center of the ring, ready to fight, but they had to respect the ritual. Ring announcer Lilian Garcia introduced both combatants while the official threw himself between their hulking bodies, giving all he had to stop the fight before the bell rang proper.
Then it did — that simple clang of metal on metal signaling the beginning of war.
The match did not begin how many expected it to. Instead of getting into a fistfight, Triple H grabbed Reigns in a side headlock and took him down. He followed that up by grabbing an arm, then disrespectfully slapping his challenger in the back of the head. When Reigns went for a hip toss, The Game answered with one of his own and literally threw Roman out of the ring.
Triple H’s point? I can—and will—outwrestle you, kid.
Reigns attempted to turn the tide by overpowering The Game and then mocking him, but Triple H was not about to bite. It takes a lot to shake the confidence of a man known as The Cerebral Assassin.
The Game’s dominance continued. When the two Superstars hit the floor, Triple H attempted to smash Reigns’ face against the announce table, in a scary reminder of the night he destroyed Roman’s nose. When Reigns struggled out of the situation, The Game put him down with a spinning neckbreaker off the table to the floor.
Roman was outmatched. No question. The King of Kings had clearly strategized, studied tape, figured out the best ways to beat a guy who possesses athleticism and strength only seen in comic books.
Of course, as WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson once said, everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
==Match results==
* 10-women Tag team match: Team Total Divas (Alicia Fox, Brie Bella, Eva Marie, Natalya Neidhart, and Paige) defeated Team B.A.D. and Blonde (Emma, Lana, Naomi, Summer Rae, and Tamina Snuka) by submission (11:25)
* Triple threat match for the WWE Women's Championship: Charlotte Flair def. Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks to become first new WWE Women’s Champion (16:03)
* Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns defeated Triple H (c) (with Stephanie McMahon) (27:11)
Category:WWE pay-per-view events
Category:2016 pay-per-view events
Category:WrestleMania
Category:WWE Raw Women's Championship matches
Category:Alicia Fox
Category:Becky Lynch
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Category:Brie Bella
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Category:Charlotte Flair
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Category:Lana
Category:Lilian Garcia
Category:Lita
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Category:Renee Young
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Category:Stephanie McMahon
Category:Tamina Snuka