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The Usos def. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs (SmackDown Tag Team Championships)
This had the potential to be a tremendous opening match for Wrestlemania. It featured a fantastic intro and some solid chemistry from Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura early, while Jey and Jimmy Uso flashed their usual tag-team chemistry.
However, Boogs suffered a leg injury minutes into the bout, which turned this one into a handicap match. The injury appears to be legitimate. On Saturday, (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc.), Michael Cole announced Boogs will undergo surgery to repair a torn quadriceps and patella tendon.
According to Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com, the finish of the match was changed after the injury. How the match was supposed to end is unknown, but it feels unlikely that Nakamura and Boogs were meant to go over. Nakamura and the Usos were able to salvage the match, but Boogs’ unfortunate injury left this one underwhelming.
Star Rating: *½
Drew McIntyre def. Happy Corbin
This felt like the culmination of a lengthy feud between Drew McIntyre and Happy Corbin, who was accompanied to the ring by Madcap Moss. While fans have seen several matches between these two, Corbin has done a tremendous job of painting himself as an unlikable heel, which kept the crowd invested here.
The match itself was fairly run-of-the-mill, with McIntyre and Corbin trading big moves and momentum swings. The match sagged a bit in the middle, but it featured a strong finish. McIntyre became the first WWE superstar to kick out of Corbin’s End of Days finisher. He then hit a Future Shock DDT and the Claymore to end it.
After the match, McIntyre put a little fear into Moss when he cut through the top two ropes with his sword, Angela—which I have to admit, was pretty cool. Nothing spectacular here, but a good ending helped get the crowd back into things after a so-so opener.
Star Rating: ***
The Miz and Logan Paul def. Dominik and Rey Mysterio
This bout had the potential to be a complete disaster and a jokey throwaway. However, social-media star and boxer Logan Paul was surprisingly competent in the ring and worked well with The Miz s the heel team.
That said, there wasn’t much chemistry or cohesion in this one. Dominik and Rey Mysterio provided a few athletic highlights, but they never really generated any momentum.
The crowd appeared mostly uninterested in this one until the post-match, when The Miz delivered a Skull-Crushing Finale to Paul following their victory, possibly signaling a well-deserved face turn for the WWE veteran.
This was another relatively average match, but it was great to see that Paul put in the work necessary to carry himself well. This probably won’t be the last we see of him in the ring.
Star Rating: **½
