WWE WrestleMania 32 Results: Top Highlights and Low Points
To say the WWE Universe was pumped for WrestleMania 32 as much as the company would have hoped for would be a stretch. Despite this being the biggest event of the year, many fans had little faith it would deliver.
Now the results are in, we need to look back on what happened to sort out the good, the bad and everything between.
Did this end with a chorus of boos as the audience refused to accept Roman Reigns as their new WWE world heavyweight champion, or did he and Triple H tell a good-enough story to counteract that?
What is the state of WWE now Shane McMahon and The Undertaker faced off in their Hell in a Cell match?
The United States Championship, Women's Championship and Intercontinental Championship were on the line in matches that could have ranged from classics we will all remember forever to travesties we can't wait to forget.
So much potential was left untapped because of a multitude of injuries, yet WWE still promoted this show as having all a wrestling fan could possibly want. How well did WrestleMania live up to that hype?
Based on matching expectations, the quality of the in-ring performances and the general satisfaction levels from the outcomes to measure whether we should be excited for the next chapter in WWE's storytelling, what can be considered a negative and a positive for this show?
It's time to break down the biggest highlights and low points of WrestleMania 32, presented in order of appearance on the card.
Highlight: Team Total Divas vs. Team B.A.D. and Blonde
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While a random assortment of Divas isn't exactly a high-profile match in comparison to many others on the WrestleMania card, having this on the pre-show gives it some leniency to the criticism.
That being said, this match met its expectations and surpassed them in some ways.
For instance, the two women most fans would have been nervous about were Eva Marie and Lana, as they're the least experienced. However, they were kept to a minimum and pulled off some worthwhile offense during their time in the ring.
Every other woman had a chance to shine in some capacity as well, with the biggest amount of the spotlight going to Brie Bella.
Having Brie get the win for her team made for a fitting end to her career if she is indeed going to retire.
Considering all the different ways this could have been booked, this was a good means to incorporate a lot of the women who didn't have a match elsewhere on the card, as well as the lead-in to the announcement about the new Women's Championship.
With the new direction to make the women's division more of a focal point, this match did nothing but help boost the credibility of the 10 women involved.
Highlight: Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
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It's hard not to like something such as the Intercontinental Championship ladder match, as it kicked the show off with a bang.
There were a wide variety of spots that are going to be on many highlight reels, such as Sin Cara's fall from the top of the ladder, Sami Zayn going on a frenzy and slamming Kevin Owens' head onto a ladder and Zack Ryder's Elbro Drop.
Just for laughs, Stardust had a personalized ladder to fit his gear—covered in yellow polka dots to honor his father, the late Dusty Rhodes.
While some viewers will have been disappointed to see Ryder take the title, others will consider that one of the best parts of the night as it was a complete shock to most.
Surprises are part of the fun of watching WWE, and while the outcome might not have been what some wanted, we all have to admit it didn't fall victim to being predictable.
The Intercontinental Championship scene just got a lot more interesting, and it will be fun to watch where WWE goes next.
Low Point: AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho
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Before anyone jumps to the comments section to lash out, by no means was this a low point in the sense of being a terrible segment. The problem with this, though, was it did nothing to satisfy.
Fans of AJ Styles were looking for him to come out on top, but he didn't, so that will automatically upset a good portion of the audience.
If this were their first meeting, there would be room to continue the feud and build up to a conclusion that sees Styles end as the superior star. Sadly, this was the fourth match between the two, and nothing was on the line.
Nothing that happened here was new; their other matches exhausted everything they had to offer. Basically, this was about the same as watching their SmackDown match but with a bigger audience.
With nothing to differentiate this battle from the others, nothing on the line to up the stakes and the heel beating the fan favorite, this went from a potential highlight to something that will be utterly forgettable.
It's a crazy show when something devoted to Total Divas did more to further its cause than Styles vs. Jericho.
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Low Point: The New Day vs. the League of Nations
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If AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho can be criticized for being not much more than a repeat of previous matches, then the same has to apply to the so-called "battle for supremacy."
First off, this battle was baseless. The New Day had defeated The League of Nations multiple times beforehand, proving it was the dominant faction. There was no foundation for this match's booking to begin with.
Second, not having the Tag Team Championships on the line meant there not only weren't any true stakes but it was easy to predict The League of Nations would be victorious, ruining any surprise to the finish.
Last but not least, this match was not just downgraded from having the belts on the line, but King Barrett was also originally scheduled to compete.
This was off to a fun start with the giant box of Booty-O's cereal, but if you boil down all of the elements to the build and the outcome, it was a letdown.
Highlight: Steve Austin, Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels Make the Save
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It will be hard to find someone who didn't have a smile on their face when Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin came out to bring the fight to The League of Nations.
Anybody who was a fan of WWE in the 1990s was instantly flooded with nostalgia, flipping out with excitement over being able to see three of the best of all time back in action, if only just for a little while.
Michaels looked to be in amazing shape, Foley was moving rather well for someone who has struggled with many lingering injuries and Austin was in classic form, not missing a comedic beat.
This was an example of the magic of WrestleMania, where legends can make a quick appearance to celebrate the past while giving some spotlight to the current stars as well.
Highlight: No Holds Barred Street Fight Match
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While it might not have lived up to the hype if you were expecting this to be the bloodiest battle in WWE history, this was still a good showcase of two of the biggest names on the roster.
Brock Lesnar kept up his legacy of being the most dominant man in the company, taking what Dean Ambrose had to dish out and still coming out on top.
For the Ambrose fans who are disappointed he didn't win, it should at least be a consolation prize to see he was able to withstand some tough punishment and look like an even bigger star in the end.
After thirteen suplexes and an F5 onto a pile of steel chairs, nobody should be looking at Ambrose as a loser despite what the record books say.
At the very least, this match gave us a video clip we'll be seeing for a long time: Ambrose licking the barbed-wire bat, showing just how crazy The Lunatic Fringe is.
Being in this spot in the card, this match did its job of changing up the pace and doing something different while saving something for the Hell in a Cell match later on.
Highlight: Women's Championship Triple Threat Match
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WWE made a concerted effort to promote the changes in the Divas division at WrestleMania with the introduction of the new championship and an upgraded atmosphere of importance.
This carried over into the Women's Championship match, which felt as though it was a legitimate main event rather than just the bathroom break it normally is relegated to being.
Just as the men frequently receive a more elaborate entrance at WrestleMania, the same applied to Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, with pyro being added to the mix.
As far as the quality of the in-ring performances, those were stepped up to a new level as well, with these three women putting on the best match in their division so far this year.
Each false finish seemed like a legitimate possible ending, with the final outcome playing right into each woman's respective role. Charlotte's win by cheating made sense, as did having Becky be the one to take the loss and Sasha come up just short.
Charlotte is a great choice to be spearheading this new change in the climate of the division, and Sasha is being set up nicely to take the title at Payback or Extreme Rules down the line.
Highlight: Hell in a Cell Match
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Without a doubt, one of the most replayed moments of WrestleMania 32 is going to be Shane McMahon's elbow drop from the top of the cage in this Hell in a Cell match, which was one of the craziest jumps in the history of the company.
That wasn't the only spot to be a highlight, though. McMahon's Coast to Coast and when The Undertaker tackled him through the cage were two others that got the crowd on its feet.
Naturally, there were some moments where suspension of disbelief needed to kick in to a high level, such as the awkward stumbling of McMahon's Sharpshooter, but before long, it turned into nail-biting action.
Highlight: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
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Rather than appearing on the pre-show as originally advertised, the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was instead placed as a buffer between the two main events. Normally, this is a dead spot, but this match ended up being a ton of fun.
Even before the action started, the crowd was going nuts from the entrances, as several surprises came out, including Tatanka, Diamond Dallas Page and the biggest of them all, Shaquille O'Neal.
What could have been a lumbering 20-man snooze fest was made much more interesting by the unpredictability of the outcome, and that honor went to NXT Superstar Baron Corbin.
This is a match that doesn't necessarily shoot someone into the stratosphere as far as a push would go, but it definitely helps boost someone's credibility if they stand out above the rest.
Now Corbin has made his main roster debut of sorts and become the third winner of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, his stock has risen dramatically.
It's always good to see someone make a name for themselves and for younger stars to take that next step toward becoming the future of the business, so for Corbin to win a good match on the biggest show of the year is a game-changer.
Highlight: The Rock, John Cena and the Wyatt Family
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Any time The Rock appears on a show, he's bound to make some waves. When that show is WrestleMania, though, that just makes it an even bigger guarantee.
The Rock started off by announcing the WWE attendance record was broken, with over 100,000 fans in attendance at AT&T Stadium. That is a monumental number that will stand for quite some time, but that wasn't even the end of the segment.
With the entrance of The Wyatt Family, it was only a matter of time before everyone in the ring came to blows. This was taken to the next level with an official match taking place between The Rock and Erick Rowan for all of six seconds, which may be a new record in itself.
To cap it all off, John Cena made his return to aid The Rock in fighting off the trio, coming back well ahead of schedule.
It wouldn't be WrestleMania without the face of the company, The Great One and the crazy cult, so including them in this segment was a good way to utilize them and inject a little bit more fun that wasn't previously advertised.
Highlight: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
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The comments section will probably disagree, but if you set aside a bias against Roman Reigns, this was a great match to finish off the night.
It won't go down as the best of all time by any means, but it's undoubtedly not going to be as appreciated as it should be as a result of the WWE Universe's failure to warm up to the new champion.
Without the boos from the crowd and the complaints about the Superstar being pushed, the fundamentals were exactly what fans would love in a WWE World Heavyweight Championship contest.
It had drama with the false finishes, surprises such as the spear on Stephanie McMahon, the standard set of maneuvers these two have incorporated into their repertoires and the finish that had been built up for months.
Like it or not, the story being told was classic WWE, and as long as the fans sit back and enjoy the ride, it will probably also be the start of a great title reign.
What do you think were the highlights and the low points of WrestleMania 32? How would you rank the other segments not on this list, such as the United States Championship match or The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below!
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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