[2019-04-07-WWE-WrestleMania 35] Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins

[SmartMark15]

I'm judging this match as a full whole, from both guys coming to the ring all the way to the pinfall. I did not believe in Seth at all coming into WrestleMania and I sure as hell didn't think he was going to win this match. I loved the kayfabe reason for having this open being Lesnar not wanting to wait around backstage if he wasn't going to main event anyway. The beatdown Lesnar gave him to open was great. Rollins bumped his ass off and that was really the best thing he could have done during this match. It also made a nice callback to the Balor match with Lesnar ensuring that he got the momentum early. Rollins making his comeback and hitting three Curb Stomps clean to finally get that sweet pinfall on Brock was fantastic. Again, this from someone who doesn't even think Rollins is the right guy to pull it off. But in that moment, with the way they structured that match, it was fantastic.

****1/2

[DMJ]

Like the Goldberg/Lesnar match from Survivor Series, this one was better than the sum of its parts.

For starters, Paul Heyman's pre-match promo was great. As we've all said, WrestleManias have become far too long and the shows are no longer building to "peaks" as much as having multiple peaks and multiple valleys. Having this match as your opener? Awesome, fun choice if you ask me. 

Then, you get Lesnar tossing Rollins for the first few minutes. This worked for me and Rollins, for once, actually sold some damage. Maybe it helped that he wasn't targeting a specific limb? I feel like Rollins isn't great at selling a damaged knee, but general pain/exhaustion? He's not the worst (he's not the best either). Regardless, I can watch Rollins get his ass kicked all day so I didn't mind that that was the meat of the match.

And before you know it, we're wrapping things up. Lesnar suffers yet another nut shot and Rollins hits a bunch of Curb Stomps. While I don't necessarily "buy it," I do think that has more to do with how weak the move is (specifically Rollins' execution of it) rather than Lesnar being booked as "unbeatable." In this regard, again I point to the Goldberg match and, to a lesser extent, his matches with Taker, Reigns, and even Balor. If you want to beat Brock, your only strategy is to hit him in the nuts and blitzkrieg him with your finisher over and over. Silver lining: At least it was the Curb Stomp and not the Pedigree? 

The crowd, who was still fully awake at this point, popped huge. Rollins is not someone I rate very highly, but its undeniable that he was the clear favorite - and maybe more importantly - the one guy that the audience was still not 100% convinced would actually win. Having him go on first and set the tone also had the added effect of making the WWE Championship more of a toss-up as many fans, myself included, believed they wouldn't have babyfaces win out all three of the top title matches (I'm not sure the main event finish was ever in doubt).

3.5-out-of-5 is what I gave it on my blog.

[cactus]

After being pissed at not being in the main event slot, Heyman demands that his cilent's match goes on first. Lesnar dominates Rollins before the match even starts, but a low blow behind the referee's back and three stomps is enough for Rollins to pick up the win in a little over two and a half minutes of actual bell time. Lesnar's performance was rather lazy, only hitting a few suplexes, an F5, and not much more of else, but a lazy Lesnar performance is still better than most. Rollins looked great as face here, something that would quickly disappear quickly into his reign. This was a  smart way to kick off Wrestlemania with a bang and wake the crowd up.

★★★