Welcome to the review of the Wrestlemania 35 Kick Off Show. CB and Rox break down the 4 matches which took place on the prelude to the show of shows.
The matches on this part of the show are the Cruiserweight Championship Match, the women’s Battle Royal, the Raw tag team Championship match and the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Stay tuned to Pro Wrestling Journal for the main event!
The kick of show had guest appearances at the table from Paige, JBL, Edge and Christian, Jerry Lawler, Shawn Michaels (who dresses him?!) David Otunga and Booker T. Some of the other stars who stopped by for a chat were Q and Sal of Impractical Jokers who were super excited to be there. Akbar Gbaja-Biamila of Ninja Warrior was also present during the kick off show.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Tony Nese vs Buddy Murphy (C) – CB
Buddy Murphy is the first person to make an entrance at Wrestlemania 35 and he does so as a tribute to The Joker from what it looked like with the purple jacket and the green bandana. As soon as Tony Nese was in the ring, the two men went at it like rabid animals; throwing strikes and kicks and knees, like.. all the knees. There were suplexes into corners, there were Fozberry Flops, 450s and Cartwheels off the apron and at one point Buddy Murphy hit a Kamigoye that looked so stiff I thought Nese was legitimately out-cold. But all of this happened in the space of about 6 bloody minutes too! That’s when Nese hits the Running Kneese on Murphy to win the title at Wrestlemania! Massive congratulations to the Premier Athlete! First title change of the Night in the very first match. Way too short, about 6-7 minutes max, but it was a decent showing from the two guys.
Women’s Battle Royal – Rox
All women come down to the ring together and the lovely Lilian Garcia is the guest ring announcer. In my opinion, the winner should get a title match of their choice. Naomi, and Asuka are the only two participants who got their entrance music. Maria Kanellis is in the match but not for long. Kairi Sane and Candice LeRae represent NXT. No Lacey Evans. The pack thins quickly. Nice to see Ember Moon make her return and it’s unfortunate Lana didn’t sell the Eclipse well. Moon eliminates Naomi, which is surprising and then Lana eliminates Moon. The Riott Squad’s pack mentality keeps them going and they appear dominant until Kairi Sane lands a beautiful Flying Elbow to Sarah Logon. Dana Brooke stands tall against the Riott Squad, eliminating Ruby and Morgan but is later eliminated by the tandem offence of Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose. Zelina Vega lasts longer than expected but her contribution is rather none commentary. It comes down to Deville, Asuka and Logan. Deville and Asuka are eliminated and we are left thinking Logan has done it, but it appears we overlooked Carmella. Scratching and clawing Logan hangs off the ropes and ultimately drops out after a Superkick. Winner – Carmella. There were all of 3 wrestling moves in this match.
WWE RAW Tag Team Championship
Ryder & Hawkins vs The Revival (c) – CB
It’s really cool to see Renee Young on commentary at Wrestlemania too. She is so good at her job and to see it pay off like this is wonderful. She deserves it.
Hawkins & Ryder are hometown boys this evening. 269 straight losses for Hawkins, will it end at Wrestlemania? Man, what a time to do it, eh? In his home town at Wrestlemania for the WWE RAW Tag Team Championships.. It was the perfect setting. After an outside Brainbuster, a nasty Suplex over the ropes, some amazing back and forth and fantastic tag team Wrestling in the form of cutting off the ring and owning the area around them, but Hawkins played the role of possum so well it would have made Eddie Guerrero very proud when he rolled Dawson up in an inside cradle and won the match! His losing streak is finally over! Congratulations to the NEW WWE RAW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS! Woo woo woo!
Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal – CB
Colin Jost & Michael Che get their own entrance, followed by The Hardys who had their entrance music play for about 12 hours whilst the kick-off panel talked about what Booker T’s mum told him as a boy and then Braun Strowman came out with his hands. Braun Strowman ripped his shirt open and revealed a pretty different physique to the last time we saw him. He is absolutely jacked!
Luke Harper is back on TV, he had a stare off with Strowman and that got a huge pop. EC3 was my pick to win, he was eliminated 3rd or 4th just as a fleeting camera shot and barely any recognition. Ah, well.
Very early on it appeared Andrade was going to emerge victorious as he got some decent eliminations. Otis hit The Caterpillar, Mustafa Ali took a bump that may have killed him as he was being suplexed off the apron by Harper, who was booted off the apron mid-move and Ali literally hit the floor with his head and then rolled into the corner of the commentary desk. Colin Jost and Michael Che his under the ring until the last man, Strowman, was left.. and after failing to eliminate him, they both met their end. Braun Strowman won the Battle Royal. Let’s hope he doesn’t accidentally smush this trophy like he did the Greatest Royal Rumble one.
