WrestleMania 35

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 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 PPVs, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, referred to as the "Big Four". WrestleMania was ranked the sixth most valuable sports brand in the world by Forbes in 2017, and 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 15, 2018, WrestleMania 35 was scheduled to be held on April 7, 2019, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, located in the New York metropolitan area. It featured wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands. It was the second WrestleMania held at MetLife Stadium, after WrestleMania 29 in 2013, the fourth to be held in the state of New Jersey, after WrestleMania IV in 1988, WrestleMania V in 1989, and WrestleMania 29, and the sixth in the New York metropolitan area, after WrestleMania I in 1985, the first portion of WrestleMania 2 in 1986, WrestleMania X in 1994, WrestleMania XX in 2004, and WrestleMania 29.

There were two official theme songs for the event: "Love Runs Out" by OneRepublic, which served as the main theme, and "Work" by Chris Classic, which served as a secondary theme. There was also a theme song for the main event, "White Flag" by Bishop Briggs. On November 5, 2018, traveling packages for the event were sold while tickets went on sale on November 16, 2018. On the March 11 episode of Monday Night Raw, active WWE wrestler Alexa Bliss was revealed as the host of WrestleMania 35. On the following episode, Elias announced that he would have a musical performance at the event.

Multiple celebrities took part in the event. On the March 4 episode of Raw, Colin Jost and Michael Che of Saturday Night Live were introduced as special correspondents for the event, and were later entered into the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Joan Jett performed her song "Bad Reputation" live for Ronda Rousey's ring entrance. Gospel music star and syndicated radio host Yolanda Adams performed "America the Beautiful" to begin the main show.

Storylines

The event comprised 16 matches, including four on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live, and the cruiserweight-exclusive 205 Live.

At SummerSlam, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair were involved in a triple threat match for the SmackDown Women's Championship against defending champion Carmella, which Flair won. Afterwards, Lynch attacked Flair, ending their friendship. Lynch defeated Flair for the championship at Hell in a Cell and successfully defended her title against Flair in a Last Woman Standing Match at the inaugural all women's pay-per-view Evolution. At Survivor Series, Lynch was originally scheduled to face Raw's Ronda Rousey in a non-title match, but was replaced by Flair due to a legit injury; during the match, Flair brutally attacked Rousey with weapons. Rousey then interfered in a tables, ladders, and chairs championship match between Lynch, Flair, and Asuka at the namesake event, costing both Lynch and Flair the match. Lynch failed to regain the title at the Royal Rumble, but won the women's Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Flair, despite injuring her own knee, and chose to face Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania.

Lynch was then suspended for refusing a medical examination on her knee. After getting medically cleared, however, Vince McMahon suspended her again and introduced Flair as Rousey's WrestleMania opponent. Over the following weeks, Lynch continued to violate her suspension and attacked both Rousey and Flair until the suspension was lifted. At Fastlane, Lynch defeated Flair by disqualification when Rousey attacked Lynch. Per the stipulation, Lynch was added back into the championship match at WrestleMania to make it a triple threat match. After Flair defeated Asuka for the SmackDown Women's Championship, the WrestleMania match was made Winner Takes All with both titles on the line. The match was also confirmed as the first-ever women's match to main event WrestleMania. On the April 1 episode of Raw, Rousey, Lynch, and Flair won a six-woman tag team match; the first person to betray the other would have been removed from the match. After the match, all three brawled, even while handcuffed, and were taken out by police. On SmackDown the next night, Lynch recapped her road to WrestleMania and promised to win the Raw and SmackDown women's championships.

At the Royal Rumble, Raw's Seth Rollins won the men's Royal Rumble match, earning a world championship match of his choice at WrestleMania. The next night on Raw, Universal Champion Brock Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman tried to discourage Rollins from challenging Lesnar, leading to a brawl between Rollins and Lesnar. Subsequently, Rollins chose to challenge Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania.

Event

Pre-show

Four matches were contested on the two-hour WrestleMania 35 Kickoff pre-show. In the first match, Buddy Murphy defended the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Tony Nese. In the end, Nese performed a "Running Kneese" on Murphy, who was seated in the corner, to win the title.

The WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal took place next. In the end, Sarah Logan seemingly last eliminated Asuka, but Carmella, who had not actually been eliminated, re-entered the ring and eliminated Logan with a superkick to win the match and the trophy then hugged her father in celebration.

After that, The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) defended the Raw Tag Team Championship against Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. In the end, Dawson performed a brainbuster on Hawkins outside the ring, then rolled him back into the ring. Hawkins feigned unconsciousness and then rolled up Dawson to win the titles and end his 269-match losing streak.

The last pre-show match was the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. During the majority of the match, WrestleMania correspondents Colin Jost and Michael Che hid under the ring. In the end, as The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) were trying to eliminate Braun Strowman, Che and Jost entered the ring in an attempt to help The Hardy Boyz, however, Strowman overpowered the four and eliminated The Hardy Boyz. Jost attempted to work things out with Strowman by inviting his therapist in the ring, however, Strowman attacked the therapist and then eliminated Che. Strowman then picked Jost up and threw him outside of the ring on top of other wrestlers (participants who also competed in the match and were already eliminated) to win the match and the trophy.

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with WrestleMania host Alexa Bliss welcoming the crowd. She then brought out Hulk Hogan to hype the crowd for the event. Paul Heyman interrupted the two and marched to the ring. He declared that if Brock Lesnar was not fighting in the main event, he would not wait the entire show for his Universal Championship defense against Seth Rollins and then proceeded to introduce Lesnar. As Rollins approached the ring, he was immediately attacked by Lesnar. After the match officially started, Lesnar delivered several German suplexes to Rollins. Rollins countered an "F-5" attempt and shoved Lesnar into the referee. While the referee was incapacitated, Rollins attacked Lesnar with a low blow followed by a superkick and three "Curb Stomps" to win the title.

Next, AJ Styles faced Randy Orton. During the match, Orton attempted an "RKO", only for Styles to counter several times. Outside the ring, Orton hit Styles with a chair several times targeting his knee. Orton eventually performed an "RKO" for a near-fall. In the end, Styles performed a "Phenomenal Forearm" on Orton outside the ring and again in the ring to win the match.

After that, The Usos defended the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus), Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura, and Aleister Black and Ricochet in a fatal four-way tag team match. During the match, Cesaro performed the "Cesaro Swing" on Ricochet for a full minute while Sheamus performed the "Beats of the Bodhrán" on four opponents. A superplex attempt by The Bar developed into a top-rope maneuver involving seven wrestlers. In the end, The Usos delivered a double "Superfly Splash" on Sheamus to retain the titles.

In the following match, The Miz faced Shane McMahon in a falls count anywhere match. During the match, Shane dominated Miz which prompted Miz's dad, who was sitting in the front row, to come into the ring and attempt to fight Shane, however, Shane attacked him. Miz and Shane then fought out into the crowd. In the end, Miz performed a Skull Crushing-Finale on Shane for a near-fall, then Miz performed a superplex on Shane off of a 15-foot camera stage to a lower platform just above the floor. As Shane landed on top of Miz, the referee counted a pinfall, giving the win to Shane.

Next, The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) defended the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship against Nia Jax & Tamina, The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce), and Beth Phoenix & Natalya in a fatal four-way tag team match. In the end, Phoenix performed a "Glam Slam" on Bayley off the top rope. Royce threw Phoenix out of the ring, while Kay, who had tagged Phoenix, pinned Bayley to win the titles.

Main event

The main event was the first women's main event match in WrestleMania history; Becky Lynch faced Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey and SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair in a Winner Takes All triple threat match for both titles. Rousey dominated the start of the match. This continued until Flair and Lynch lifted Rousey over the top rope. While Rousey was still applying an armbar on Flair, Lynch kicked her off, causing her to have a hard landing. Flair and Lynch exchanged blows until Rousey broke it up. After a pinning attempt by Flair on Rousey resulted in a nearfall, Flair countered an armbar attempt by Rousey into a Boston Crab, but Lynch performed a bulldog on Flair. Lynch then performed DDTs on Flair and Rousey simultaneously for nearfalls. Lynch then performed an Exploder suplex on Flair from the middle rope for a nearfall. Lynch and Flair then performed three powerbombs on Rousey. Flair threw Lynch out and covered Rousey for a nearfall. Lynch then applied the Dis-arm-her on Rousey, who made it to the ring ropes, but Lynch still kept the submission applied. Flair then performed a Spanish Fly on Lynch for a nearfall. Flair then applied the figure-four leglock on Rousey around the ring post. Flair then sent Lynch into the ringside barricade. Rousey countered a figure-four attempt by Flair into a roll-up for a nearfall. Flair locked in the "Figure-Eight Leglock" on Rousey, only for Lynch to break up the hold. Lynch then retrieved a table, but Rousey tossed it away. Flair then performed a Spear on Lynch and Rousey at the same time, but it resulted in nearfalls. In the closing moments, Flair performed another Spear on Lynch for a nearfall. Flair went for the same move, but Lynch and Rousey put Flair through a table. Lynch and Rousey then went after each other, and Rousey got the upper hand. Rousey then performed the "Piper's Pit" on Lynch, who countered into a crucifix – Rousey's first pinfall loss – to win both the Raw and SmackDown Women's Championships—her first Raw Women's Championship and record-tying third SmackDown Women's Championship. The match began after midnight Eastern Time, thus Lynch won the match on April 8.

Reception

The event received fairly positive reviews from critics and viewers alike. Much criticism, however, was drawn towards the overall runtime of the event. Including the pre-show, the event clocked in at 7.5 hours, making it the longest pay-per-view the company ever produced prior to the introduction of two-night WrestleManias. The Becky Lynch–Ronda Rousey–Charlotte Flair and Kofi Kingston–Daniel Bryan storylines were also criticized in general for being too similar to Daniel Bryan's storyline for WrestleMania XXX against The Authority, although Lynch's and Kingston's rises were seen as a positive and largely supported by the fanbase.

Brian Campbell of CBS Sports directed praise towards the WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston, saying "After 11 long years, there is no trouble at all for Kingston, only paradise. The WWE veteran and one-third of The New Day pulled off an inspiring victory for the ages to cap off an amazing bit of storytelling following an unlikely and organic bid. Crowning Kingston as just the second male African-American WWE champion in the promotion's history certainly wasn't on the books as recently as two months ago but the combination of Kingston's in-ring performances and the undying support of the crowd made it the right thing to do". He also directed praise towards the Falls Count Anywhere match between Shane McMahon and The Miz, saying "As far as car wrecks go, this one was an artistic masterpiece. Not only did The Miz bring enough hatred and aggression to match the angle of protecting his father from McMahon, the creative use of the stadium for the match stipulation turned out to be brilliant".

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer stated that the main event was "good", but the controversial way the match ended lead him to believe "that Rousey will be back for at least another show because Corey Graves was pointing out how this wasn't the way he'd want WrestleMania to end." He noted that the Styles-Orton match wasn't "as good as you'd expect from these two", calling it a "slow deliberate match" that "never reached a fever pitch." However, Meltzer loved the Kingston-Bryan match, calling it a great match stating, "this blew away everything" at that point. He also liked the Rollins-Lesnar match stating that, despite its short length, "this tore down the house with the quick all big moves match like a Lesnar-Goldberg style." Meltzer felt the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match "could have been a classic if given more time", praising the Cesaro Swing to Ricochet, the tower of doom superplex spot and the Double Superfly splash in the end. Meltzer also felt the Reigns-McIntyre match "wasn't much" and that it was McIntyre doing most of the heavy work. He also stated that "Reigns looked tons better at Fastlane".

Aftermath

Raw

The following night on Raw, new Raw and SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch thanked the fans for their support and warned Ronda Rousey that she would be waiting for a rematch when Rousey returned from her post-WrestleMania hiatus. Lynch was subsequently attacked by Lacey Evans, who was drafted to Raw during the Superstar Shake-up and defeated Natalya to become the number one contender for the Raw Women's Championship at Money in the Bank. Charlotte Flair also earned a rematch for the SmackDown Women's Championship at the same event by defeating new SmackDown draftee Bayley.

New Universal Champion Seth Rollins proclaimed that, unlike Brock Lesnar, he would be a fighting champion. He was then interrupted by The New Day; new WWE Champion Kofi Kingston challenged Rollins to a "Winner Takes All" match that Rollins accepted, but the match ended in disqualification when The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) attacked Kingston. This led to a tag team match where Rollins and Kingston defeated The Bar. New Raw draftee AJ Styles then earned a Universal Championship match against Rollins at Money in the Bank, while Kevin Owens began a feud with Kingston, leading to a WWE Championship match at the same event. Before Money in the Bank, former WWE Champion Daniel Bryan received a rematch for the title on the May 6 episode of Raw, but was unsuccessful in regaining the title–although the two were SmackDown wrestlers, Vince McMahon introduced a "wild card rule" allowing up to four wrestlers to appear on the opposing brand's show by invitation going forward.

At Money in the Bank, Brock Lesnar was a surprise entrant in the men's Money in the Bank ladder match at the titular event, and won the match. He then successfully cashed in his contract on Seth Rollins at Extreme Rules to win the Universal Championship for a third time. This led to one more rematch at SummerSlam, where Rollins was victorious.

Baron Corbin boasted about defeating Kurt Angle, who interrupted him. Angle feigned to wish Corbin luck and then performed the Angle Slam and an Ankle Lock on Corbin. NXT's Lars Sullivan then made his main roster debut and attacked Angle. Corbin was later entered into the Money in the Bank ladder match to represent Raw, along with Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, and new draftee Ricochet, though Sami Zayn replaced Strowman after defeating the latter. SmackDown's Ali (formerly Mustafa Ali), Andrade, Randy Orton, and new draftee Finn Bálor were also entered into the ladder match.

SmackDown

On the following episode of SmackDown, Carmella celebrated her winning the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal with R-Truth only for United States Champion Samoa Joe to interrupt and attack Truth. Joe then boasted that he could beat any challenger quicker than he defeated Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania and then got into a brawl with André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner Braun Strowman. Joe and Mysterio were then moved to Raw during the Superstar Shake-up and continued their feud, leading to a title rematch at Money in the Bank.

Following his drafting to the Raw brand in the Superstar Shake-up the following week, The Miz attacked Shane McMahon, seeking retribution. Shane then attacked Miz during a match with Bobby Lashley on the April 29 episode of Raw and Miz later challenged Shane to a Steel Cage match at Money in the Bank that Shane accepted.

On 205 Live, Tony Nese defeated Buddy Murphy in a rematch to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Murphy was then transferred to SmackDown during the Superstar Shake-up.

Transit delays

After the event, many fans who had taken NJ Transit to Meadowlands Rail Line and planned to return that way had to wait in the rain for hours. The transit agency had expected that WWE would end the event at 10:30 p.m., as it had told them they expected it to, and planned its staffing needs around that. When the event ran two hours longer, most of those staff had exceeded the limits of their daily work hours as permitted by Federal Railroad Administration regulations, and had gone home, leaving train crews shorthanded. At some points fans threatened to riot if trains did not come; their attempts to get alternative transportation through Uber were also mostly unsuccessful. NJ Transit had expected from 8,000 to 13,000 riders; instead 33,000 headed for the trains after the event.

NJ Transit officials blamed WWE for not telling them until the event had run later than scheduled that it would end after 10:30; some fans agreed with the railroad, recalling that WrestleMania 29 (the last WrestleMania held at MetLife Stadium) had ended around 10 p.m. and there were no problems with the trains. WWE officials responded that they do not plan specific ending times. The failure drew comparisons to similar rail delays that accompanied Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in 2014, which had attracted almost the same number of fans to the Meadowlands.

New Jersey elected officials dismissed the transit agency's response. Upon hearing that NJ Transit had not adequately explained the reason for the delays to the waiting fans, Governor Phil Murphy, who has made a priority of reforming the agency, called that "completely, utterly, dog-ate-my-homework unacceptable." State senator Paul Sarlo of nearby Wood-Ridge, who chairs that body's Budget and Appropriations committee, said the delays hurt the state's reputation. "It sends a bad message that imperils our ability to attract and retain the sports and entertainment events that deliver economic benefits." He suggested that the state could alleviate these problems in the future by completing the loop intended to take event attendees from Secaucus Junction to the Meadowlands; currently trains that take the spur from the Pascack Valley Line to the Meadowlands station must back out of it since the line ends there, causing delays when passenger volume is high.

Results