WrestleMania 33

Production

Background

WrestleMania is WWE's flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, having first been held in 1985. It was the company's first pay-per-view produced and was also WWE's first major event available via livestreaming when the company launched the WWE Network in February 2014. It is the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of WWE's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, referred to as the "Big Four". The event has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment. Much like the Super Bowl, cities bid for the right to host the year's edition of WrestleMania.

Announced on March 8, 2016, WrestleMania 33 was scheduled to be held on April 2, 2017, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. It was the third WrestleMania to be held in the U.S. state of Florida, after WrestleMania XXIV in 2008, which was at the same stadium when it was known as the Florida Citrus Bowl, and WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012, which was in Miami Gardens. Tickets went on sale on November 18, 2016, with individual tickets costing $38 to $2,130. On October 31, 2016, traveling packages with accommodation ranging from $950 to $5,900 per person were sold. A two-hour Kickoff pre-show preceded the main show, with the second hour broadcast simultaneously on USA Network. On February 20, 2017, then-active WWE wrestlers The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) of the Raw brand were confirmed to be the hosts of WrestleMania 33.

This was the first WrestleMania held since the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016, in which WWE again divided the main roster between the Raw and SmackDown brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform. As such, this was the first WrestleMania since WrestleMania 29 in 2013 to include two men's world championship matches, in turn marking the first WrestleMania to feature the Universal Championship, following its introduction on Raw in July 2016 after the WWE World Heavyweight Championship became exclusive to SmackDown and renamed as WWE Championship. It was also the first to include two women's world championship matches, thus being the first WrestleMania to feature the SmackDown Women's Championship, as well as the newer WWE Cruiserweight Championship which occurred on the pre-show.

The four official theme songs for the event were "Greenlight" by Pitbull feat. Flo Rida and LunchMoney Lewis, "Like a Champion" by Danger Twins, "Flame" by Tinashe, and "Am I Savage?" by Metallica. At the event, Pitbull performed "Options" with Stephen Marley before performing "Greenlight" with Flo Rida and LunchMoney Lewis. American singer Tinashe performed "America the Beautiful" to kick off WrestleMania 33. The pre-show was broadcast on the WWE Network, WWE.com, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube, with USA Network joining the live coverage for the second hour.

Storylines

The event comprised 13 matches, including three on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live, and the cruiserweight-exclusive 205 Live.

At the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker was eliminated by Roman Reigns in the titular match. In the ensuing stare down, Reigns exclaimed: "This is my yard now!", a claim The Undertaker had made for many years. On the March 6 episode of Raw, The Undertaker attacked Reigns with a chokeslam, and a match between the two was scheduled for WrestleMania 33 in what would become the main event.

At the Royal Rumble, SmackDown's Randy Orton won his second Royal Rumble match, earning himself a world championship match at WrestleMania 33 for his brand's WWE Championship. At Elimination Chamber, Bray Wyatt won the Elimination Chamber match to become the new WWE Champion. As a devoted Wyatt Family member, Orton relinquished his championship opportunity. SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan then scheduled a battle royal to determine Wyatt's WrestleMania challenger; it ended in a draw when both AJ Styles and Luke Harper hit the ground simultaneously. Styles then defeated Harper the following week to earn the title match, but at the conclusion of the episode, Orton restated his intentions to challenge Wyatt for the WWE Championship by appearing at the Wyatt Family compound, where Wyatt Family's matriarch Sister Abigail was buried, and setting the compound ablaze, turning face in the process. A number one contender's match between Orton and Styles was scheduled in which Orton won.

At WrestleMania XX in 2004, Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar in their first match against each other. Both left the company after the event, but Lesnar returned in 2012. After twelve years, Goldberg returned in 2016 and immediately began a feud with Lesnar. He defeated Lesnar at Survivor Series in one minute and twenty-six seconds, and also quickly eliminated him from the Royal Rumble match. The next night on Raw, Lesnar and Paul Heyman appeared and challenged Goldberg to one final match at WrestleMania 33. Goldberg accepted Lesnar's challenge and also challenged Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship at Fastlane, which he won, turning their match into a title match for the Universal title. The following night on Raw, new Universal Champion Goldberg came out but was interrupted by Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. Lesnar attempted to shake Goldberg's hand to congratulate him, but Goldberg refused. Heyman then said that Goldberg would be "Brock's bitch" at WrestleMania and Lesnar attacked Goldberg with an F-5. The following week, Lesnar and Heyman gloated about Lesnar's attack on Goldberg. On the final Raw before WrestleMania, Goldberg and Lesnar had one last confrontation where Goldberg speared Lesnar.

Event

Pre-show

Three matches were contested on the two-hour long WrestleMania 33 Kickoff pre-show. In the first match, Neville defended the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Austin Aries. In the climax, as Aries applied the "Last Chancery" on Neville, Neville poked Aries' eyes to escape and performed a "Red Arrow" on Aries to retain the title.

Next, 33 wrestlers competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, including previously unannounced participants Kalisto, Sin Cara, Luke Harper, Titus O'Neil, The Vaudevillains (Simon Gotch and Aiden English) and The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor). In the climax, Jinder Mahal taunted New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was sitting at ringside. This prompted Gronkowski to enter the ring and shove Mahal. Mojo Rawley then eliminated Mahal to win the match.

In the last pre-show match, Dean Ambrose defended the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Baron Corbin. In the end, Corbin attempted the "End of Days" on Ambrose, who countered and performed "Dirty Deeds" on Corbin to retain the title.

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with the hosts, The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods), who were dressed as characters inspired by Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, a sponsor of the event. They made their entrance and hyped the live crowd for the event.

In the first match, AJ Styles faced Shane McMahon. During the match, Styles attempted a springboard 450° splash on Shane, who countered into a triangle choke on Styles, who then countered into a one-armed "Styles Clash" on Shane for a near-fall. After the referee was knocked down, Styles attempted a "Coast-to-Coast" on Shane, who countered by attacking Styles with a trash can. Shane then performed a "Coast-to-Coast" into a trash can on Styles for a near-fall. Shane attempted a "Leap of Faith" through an announce table on Styles, who moved and Shane fell through the announce table. As Styles attempted a "Phenomenal Forearm", Shane countered into a float-over DDT on Styles. Shane attempted a shooting star press, but Styles avoided and performed a "Phenomenal Forearm" on Shane to win the match.

Next, Chris Jericho defended the WWE United States Championship against Kevin Owens. Owens attempted a pop-up powerbomb on Jericho, who countered and performed a "Lionsault" on Owens for a near-fall. Owens applied the "Walls of Jericho" on Jericho, who escaped. Owens performed a pop-up powerbomb on Jericho for a near-fall. As Owens attempted a second pop-up powerbomb on Jericho, Jericho countered into a "Codebreaker" on Owens, who touched the ring ropes with one finger to void the pinfall at a two count. In the end, Owens performed a powerbomb on Jericho onto the ring apron and pinned him to win his first United States Championship.

After that, Bayley defended the WWE Raw Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax and Sasha Banks in a fatal four-way elimination match. Bayley, Flair, and Banks performed a triple powerbomb on Jax and all three pinned Jax to eliminate her. Banks applied the "Bank Statement" on Flair, who escaped. Banks attempted a pinning combination on Flair, who kicked out and sent Banks into an exposed turnbuckle, after which, Flair pinned Banks to eliminate her. In the end, Flair collided with the exposed turnbuckle, allowing Bayley to perform a diving elbow drop on Flair to retain the title.

In the fourth match, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were originally scheduled to defend the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship against Cesaro and Sheamus and Enzo Amore and Big Cass in a triple threat ladder match. Before the match, hosts The New Day announced that a mystery fourth team had been added to the match. The team in question was revealed to be the returning Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy), making their first WWE appearances since August 2009 (Jeff) and October 2010 (Matt) respectively. This surprise came after they had lost the ROH World Tag Team Championship to The Young Bucks the previous day at Ring of Honor's Supercard of Honor XI evet. In the end, Matt performed a "Twist of Fate" off a ladder on Anderson and Jeff performed a "Swanton Bomb" off a ladder through a bridged ladder on Cesaro and Sheamus. Matt then retrieved the title belts to win the championship for the first time as a team; individually, the first time for Jeff and the second time for Matt, and seventh time overall.

Main event

In the main event, the match between The Undertaker and Roman Reigns was revealed to be a No Holds Barred match. Jim Ross returned as a guest commentator. In the ringside, The Undertaker threw Reigns to one of the steel steps and performed a Chokeslam on him onto an announce table, who then performed a Spear on The Undertaker through another announce table. The Undertaker performed a Last Ride on Reigns for a near-fall. Reigns performed two Superman Punches on The Undertaker, who attacked Reigns with a chair and performed a Chokeslam on him onto it for a near-fall. The Undertaker performed a Tombstone Piledriver on Reigns for a near-fall. As The Undertaker attempted a second Tombstone Piledriver, Reigns countered into a Superman Punch for a near-fall. Reigns executed another Spear, but The Undertaker applied Hell's Gate, with Reigns managing to escape. Reigns attacked The Undertaker with the same chair and performed two Spears, with both scored near-falls. The Undertaker attempted his signature sit-up, but suddenly collapsed. After another Spear, Reigns pinned The Undertaker to win the match and become the second person to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania after Brock Lesnar ended The Streak at WrestleMania XXX. After the match, The Undertaker symbolically left his gloves, coat and hat in the center of the ring. In a very rare moment, The Undertaker broke character and shared a kiss with his wife Michelle McCool, who was seated in the front row crying. The Undertaker walked to the center of the entrance ramp, looked at the crowd and raised his arm, as he was lowered below the stage to the sound of his music and his signature gong sounded three times, as the show ended. In the arena, the main stage lighting (not the crowd's lighting) was left off for the remainder of the evening and The Undertaker's clothes were left in the ring, as the production crew cleaned up only taking his clothing articles when it was time to disassemble the ring.

Reception

WrestleMania 33 received mixed reviews from critics. Matt Geradi and Kevin Pang of The A.V. Club co-reviewed WrestleMania. Pang criticized the event for being "long and exhausting to watch at home", with "nothing that would win match-of-the-year in a 2017 poll" and "minimum" surprises. Geradi felt that the event exceeded his expectations and "the storytelling was on point all night", but it was a "tremendously front-loaded show". Yet Geradi and Pang agreed that everything "didn't matter" as WrestleMania "was about one story—the end of The Undertaker"; both reviewers agreed that the main event was "sad", with Pang also describing it as "ugly". Although "Shawn Michaels' sympathy and expressiveness" made Ric Flair's retirement at WrestleMania "moving and memorable", Geradi chided Reigns for having "barely mustered an ounce of anything other than disbelief and exasperation" as it "was business as usual for The Big Dog". For the other matches, Pang wrote that Aries–Neville fulfilled expectations as the "best technical match" with an "especially killer" finish, while Gerardi described Jericho–Owens as "really solidly worked with some clever, unique spots, and the in-ring story with all the counters was great stuff".

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter described WrestleMania 33 as "a long but extremely newsworthy show" finished off with the "retirement" ceremony for the Undertaker, whose match was "as good as could be expected as they went long". Meltzer described that though the crowd was tired at the finish of the main event, WWE "did clearly turn down the sound" and "then they hit the pyro". For the Universal title match, Meltzer wrote that it "was what was expected" and the "match was pretty much perfect considering how late it was", with the live audience "going nuts through all of this". For McMahon–Styles, Meltzer commented that the "match had its moments that were spectacular", and that the "story was that Shane was the real striker and got the better of that". For Ambrose–Corbin, Meltzer felt it was "certainly a lot less than you'd think for a WrestleMania match", while the Raw women's match was "too short for an elimination match", and the Raw tag team title match "wasn't as good as what [sic] most WrestleMania ladder matches but the crowd went completely nuts for the Hardys". Although WWE "may have turned down the crowd noise" for Cena's proposal, Meltzer felt the proposal was "really great". Lastly, Meltzer said that Rawley winning the battle royal was "largely for the mainstream coverage of Rob Gronkowski".

Jack de Menezes of The Independent wrote that WrestleMania 33 was "an emotional night for fans", especially due to the "brutal ending" of the Undertaker's career. With Reigns' "disappointing, error-strewn display ... compared to some of the other eye-catching displays at WrestleMania", de Menezes questioned if the "obvious passing of the torch by the WWE" was "the right decision". For the other memorable moments of the night, de Menezes described the return of The Hardy Boyz as "incredible and triumphant", the Orton–Wyatt match as a "creepy and disturbing affair", Naomi recapturing the SmackDown women's title as "a homecoming to remember", McMahon–Styles as a match "filled with highlight moments" and Cena's proposal as "unthinkable".

Aftermath

There had been much speculation that Undertaker had competed in his final match. While it was not confirmed on air, the WWE online merchandise store released a commemorative photo plaque showing a photo of Undertaker's gear that he left in the ring, with the description stating that he had ended his in-ring career. In addition, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reported that Undertaker would be getting surgeries for his injuries, specifically a hip replacement surgery that Undertaker held off due to his commitments with WWE. However, after being challenged to a match at WrestleMania the following year, Undertaker made an impromptu return and defeated John Cena at WrestleMania 34. Undertaker continued to wrestle sporadically over the next couple of years until he had his official final match at WrestleMania 36 where he defeated AJ Styles in a Boneyard match. His retirement ceremony was then held at Survivor Series on November 22, 2020, which also celebrated the 30th anniversary of his WWE debut, which occurred at the 1990 Survivor Series.

Although John Cena had proposed to Nikki Bella at the event with plans to wed the following year, on April 15, 2018, Nikki announced on her Instagram account that she and Cena had ended their six-year-long relationship.

Chris Jericho admitted in 2021 during his appearance on The Broken Skull Sessions that the placement of his match with Kevin Owens was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back with WWE, making him seek work elsewhere. The original plan for WrestleMania was for Jericho to win the Universal Championship from Owens in the main event, but then Vince McMahon changed his mind. Jericho stated he understood why McMahon changed his mind, but opined that at the very least, his match with Owens should have been first. To have it shunted to the second match of the show meant to Jericho that he was always going to be a "mid-card guy" in WWE and he felt he still had main event potential, so he decided to look for work elsewhere.

Raw

On the post-WrestleMania 33 Raw the following night, the show opened with "Undertaker" and "Roman sucks" chants from the live audience, which was interrupted by Roman Reigns. After the crowd blasted Reigns with torrid boos and several minutes of hostile chants, Reigns left after only stating, "This is my yard now!" A lot of the crowd hostility arose from the speculation that WrestleMania 33 was The Undertaker's last match, as well as the long running fan opposition to Reigns. After that segment, WWE commentators labelled the post-WrestleMania 33 crowd as "non-traditional WWE fans" who may cheer for those they normally boo and boo those they normally cheer "all in the name of fun". This echoed similar comments a year prior for the post-WrestleMania 32 crowd, which The A.V. Club described as WWE's "aggressive" and condescending "disclaimers" meant to shame the hardcore audience.

Later, new Universal Champion Brock Lesnar's advocate, Paul Heyman, declared that Goldberg would not be seen again and teased a match between Lesnar and Roman Reigns. Braun Strowman came out and declared that after he himself was done with Reigns, who he had been feuding with prior to WrestleMania, he would be coming for Lesnar and his title. After the show, on Raw Talk, Goldberg stated that his WrestleMania match may have been his last, but hinted that he could return. The following week, Strowman brutally attacked Reigns during a backstage interview and overturned the ambulance that Reigns was in. Afterwards, Reigns was taken to the hospital in another ambulance. A match between the two was scheduled for Payback. Lesnar would hold on to the title for the remainder of the year. At WrestleMania 34, Lesnar and Reigns had a match for the title after it was teased by Heyman over a year ago.

Also on the post-WrestleMania Raw, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon explained that his daughter, Stephanie, would be off television for a while due to her crashing through a table at WrestleMania, and then introduced 2017 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Angle as the new Raw General Manager. He also announced that there would be a Superstar Shake-up the following week between Raw and SmackDown, a talent trade between the two brands.

Chris Jericho was granted a rematch for the United States Championship against Kevin Owens at Payback. He was then attacked backstage by Owens and Samoa Joe. Jericho was subsequently replaced in a tag team match by the returning Finn Bálor. On the April 11 episode of SmackDown, the Superstar Shake-up moved Owens to SmackDown, but it was decided that if Jericho won the United States Championship at Payback, he would also move to SmackDown. Also, Seth Rollins resumed his rivalry with Samoa Joe and the two were scheduled to fight at Payback.

SmackDown

On the post-WrestleMania SmackDown, Bray Wyatt challenged the newly-crowned WWE Champion Randy Orton to a "House of Horrors" non-title match, which Orton accepted. In the ensuing brawl, Luke Harper and the returning Erick Rowan came out to help Orton and Wyatt, respectively. Subsequently, Orton and Harper defeated Wyatt and Rowan. Wyatt was moved to Raw the following week and his rematch with Orton was scheduled for the Raw-exclusive pay-per-view, Payback.

Also on the post-WrestleMania SmackDown, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon addressed the Superstar Shake-Up. His WrestleMania opponent, AJ Styles, interrupted him, saying that he wanted to stay on SmackDown, and then shook Shane's hand out of respect. The following week, Styles was confirmed to stay on SmackDown and he defeated Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn, who had moved over from Raw, to become the number one contender for the United States Championship at Backlash.

In a non-title rematch, Baron Corbin defeated Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose in a Street Fight. This would be their last encounter as Ambrose, with the championship, moved to the Raw brand as a result of the Superstar Shake-up.

The Miz and Maryse continued their impersonation of John Cena and Nikki Bella. They claimed credit for Cena proposing to Nikki and mocked the newly-engaged couple, as they were taking a break from WWE post-WrestleMania. As they were leaving the ring, they were interrupted by the main roster debut of Shinsuke Nakamura. The Miz and Maryse were then moved to Raw, where they resumed their rivalry with Dean Ambrose. Jinder Mahal moved to SmackDown, where he continued his feud with Mojo Rawley and Rob Gronkowski. Rawley defeated Mahal following interference by Gronkowski. Both Mahal and Rawley then participated in a six-pack challenge, which Mahal won to become the #1 contender for the WWE Championship at Backlash.

In the women's division, Alexa Bliss lost her rematch for the SmackDown Women's Championship against Naomi. The following week, Bliss and Mickie James moved to Raw as a result of the Superstar Shake-up. Charlotte Flair, who moved over from Raw, defeated Naomi in a non-title match to become the number one contender.

205 Live

In the cruiserweight division on the post-WrestleMania 205 Live, Austin Aries earned another title shot by winning a fatal four-way match, and it was scheduled for Payback.

Results