WWE WRESTLEMANIA 2023 NIGHT TWO IN-PERSON PERSPECTIVE: Belair vs. Asuka, Gunther vs. Sheamus vs. McIntyre, Rhodes vs. Reigns, more.

WWE WRESTLEMANIA 2023 NIGHT TWO IN-PERSON PERSPECTIVE
APRIL 2, 2023
ENGLEWOOD, CA AT SOFI STADIUM
AIRED ON PEACOCK, 8:00 p.m. EST, 7:00 a.m. CST
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR

As I mentioned in my Hits & Misses report for night one, this report will be an in-person perspective. I had the privilege of being able to attend night two via my day job. I bid for a layover in Burbank, CA and got it, so I was excited at the prospect of attending the show. I’m not the biggest fan of going to live events historically for a lot of reasons, but I’ve been more motivated in recent years. Suffice to say attending a WrestleMania was a “bucket list” item for me, and I’m happy to have checked that box.

Arena & Atmosphere

If I’m being 100% honest, I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere and that feeling stuck with me throughout the night. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve attended shows at big stadiums before including football games and concerts. As far as pro wrestling goes it’s been strictly arenas for me, including the 2018 Survivor Series (ironically also in Los Angeles). First lesson learned about attending anything in Los Angeles. GIVE YOURSELF ENOUGH TIME TO GET THERE!! I wanted to get to the arena early enough to take things in, get something to eat, check out the merchandise, and be able to meet up with Torch assistant editor Zack Heydorn and Torch contributor Marcus Arias. I was without traffic, 45 minutes away in Burbank. I ordered a Lyft around 2:00 pacific, but it didn’t get to the hotel by 2:30. Long story short, traffic built as I was heading there and didn’t get to the building until a little after 4:00. It was about a 15-minute walk from the Lyft drop-off point to the entry gate for my section. I’m kinda glad because I was able to walk around the building and soak in the interesting look and feel of Sofi Stadium. To be honest I was hustling to get into the building, so I don’t recall seeing a lot of photos and posters showing that WrestleMania was taking place. That’s not to say there wasn’t, it just didn’t stand out to me. I know Brandon LeClair pointed out there were a lot of WWE touches when he went to the 2022 Survivor Series in Boston. Those touches were certainly in the building though, with several LED screens with Cody and Roman’s faces amongst other faces at least where I was sitting. I didn’t have time to walk around the entire building, but I’m sure what was in my section was replicated throughout. Leaving the building to go back to my hotel was another story. There was a Lyft/Uber pickup point, but there was such a cluster of traffic that not one, but two Uber requests I made were cancelled because they couldn’t get to me. I ended up taking a ride from some dude who didn’t speak English and no doubt was looking to gouge people for rides. I had to talk to him through some translator device he had that looked like a Roku remote. What he wanted to charge me was in line with how Lyft and Uber were knocking people over the head for rides. I’m like this is bizzarro world but at that point I was like whatever, I just want to get back to the hotel. I had a 45-minute ride ahead of me. I took it and crossed my fingers. I lived to talk about it, so yeah. I didn’t see a lot of parking accommodations at SoFi from flying the approach into LAX many times so, my worries of getting out of there being a nightmare came to fruition. I wasn’t there but I know what happened after WrestleMania 35 in New Jersey.

I thought the oval multi-screen canopy suspended above and around the ring was cool. It had several screens where if you couldn’t see the action in the ring, you could watch as if you were watching it on TV. Seeing the stage in person as opposed to seeing it on TV was surreal. Now where I was sitting, the WrestleMania sign was blocked, and I could only see half of the stage. The other half was blocked by what was holding the canopy above the ring. I liked what I saw as they had rotating movie-like posters. I’m not the best with movies, but the one they had for Alexa Bliss looked like Pretty Woman. Now, for me personally, this atmosphere was good and bad. Pulling back the curtain a bit, I get distracted easily as I told Greg Parks on Wrestling Night in America. I found myself going back and forth between the canopy and the ring. I was thinking ok, I should focus on the ring, but my view wasn’t that great so let me watch the tube. Then I was like wait I’m here, I should be watching in the ring, so I’d go back. Then I would look around. Add texting with friends and family back home and posting on social media out of excitement, it was easy to miss things and I did. I will have to rewatch the show on Peacock to “fill in the blanks.” I was in section 340, the next bowl from the top.

WrestleMania is an event that stands out from others, and last night I got my first front row seat to that. It’s one thing to see it on TV, but it’s another to be there. If you are a true WWE fan, and you haven’t been to a WrestleMania, you should at least try to attend one in your life. This report can’t do it justice.

Crowd & Matches

The arena was sold out. I was impressed as I didn’t feel like I “couldn’t breathe” as I felt when I went to the 2018 Survivor Series. The Staples Center, as it was called at the time (now Crypto.com arena), is densely packed and the seats were uncomfortable. That is not the case in SoFi Stadium. There was room on the floor surrounding the seats from the lower bowl. From my view each section in each bowl looked like there was enough room in between and you can sit comfortably. People looked like they were having a good time. The crowd was mixed from what I could tell between families and groups of friends going. You didn’t have the “obnoxious groups” you get sometimes but again I point out; I didn’t have time to go around the entire arena. This crowd felt like a “WrestleMania” crowd which I’ll get into when I talk about the matches. This may sound like a weird comparison, but Catholic readers might get it. So, in the catholic religion the expectation is that you go to church every Sunday and for special religious obligations. That’s not the case across the board and what happens is you get a lot of people that go to church for Easter and Christmas, the two biggest religious holidays of the year. I feel like WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and perhaps even the Royal Rumble are the WrestleMania “holidays” and you people that don’t watch regularly nor are they tuned into the product via other means, but they come out and watch or attend these big events.

This became evident to me during the Bianca Belair vs. Asuka match. I felt like the crowd could have gone either way and there wasn’t a true investment in either character. Now that could have been due to the way the match was built up on TV because it wasn’t very clear until maybe when Asuka attacked Bianca after their tag match on Raw. Still during the match both women were cheered. Going back, it was probably even more evident in the triple threat match between Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, and Gunther. The crowd had so much fun with that match as I alluded to on social media and I don’t know what happened on TV, but Gunther was cheered in victory. There was a respect for him. In my opinion they’d of cheered Sheamus or Drew had either of them won.

In the interest of keeping things in order I’ll just go back to the first match. Brock Lesnar vs. Omos was properly placed. Brock got a huge pop in both his entrance and victory. While this might not have been the best use of Brock, fans didn’t seem to care as they were just happy to see a big star. Let’s face it, you don’t always get to see him and when you get a paying WrestleMania crowd (with some of them being travelers), they’re going to react to him in a big way. This is an in-person perspective report but if I can weigh in, I think they wanted Brock in a winnable situation consider he’s lost a lot as of late. You have a hot crowd, and they get the visual of Brock vs. this 7’3” giant. It’s not about Omos, it’s about the visual and it delivered just that based on the crowd reaction.

Now my eyes rolled when I heard “Here Comes the Money,” but not the rest of the 80,000+ (assuming that’s an honest number). According to Wikipedia it seems 70,000+ “expandable to 100,00+ for other events.” I can buy that, but I digress. Look, Shane’s one of those guys that when he’s gone for a while, he gets that pop when he comes back. He’ll especially get it with the Miz being in the ring (let us not forget their history). I don’t think the crowd was thinking about that, but I remember. At any rate, there was a gasp when he got hurt. Being distracted, I missed that, but I did see him get helped out of the arena. He wasn’t carted off or anything he was just taken out by two people on the side where the hard camera sit so it wouldn’t be in view. The crowd popped for the Snoop Dogg people’s elbow and win over the Miz. Oh Mike Mizanin, this is a far cry from you main eventing and winning at WrestleMania all those years ago! You’ve now lost to a former NFL punter and rapper two nights in a row!

I had so much gone on all night I didn’t get to eat anything, so I got up after the Shane fiasco. I figured I had time, but they got to the Finn Balor and Edge entrances while I got what I got. Hat tip to Javier Machado who told me the crowd popped for Slayer’s music, but as old as I am I have never knowingly listened to a Slayer song in my life. Maybe I’ve heard some without knowing, but alas. WWE does have an older crowd so popping for that doesn’t surprise me. That said, I’m not breaking any news when I say the crowd was not happy with the match stoppage when Edge threw the ladder at Balor. I may be in the minority on this, but I have no problem with WWE airing on the side of safety. If there’s a serious cut, and Balor would have needed legitimate medical attention, then you stop the match. If you have a problem with that, that’s fine, but I stand where stand. I understand this is a blood feud and the end of a long, long story. For me, it’s not about the stoppage. It’s about using weapons in a Hell in a Cell. Why does that happen? You have the only weapon you need in the cell itself. This opinion is likely unpopular, but I don’t care. All the good Hell in a Cell matches that I remember never got to the point where tables, kendo sticks, chairs, etc. get involved (and colored ones to boot). If that’s what you want, then do a damn Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. Wasn’t that a hallmark of Edge’s early WWF/E run? I’m sure my opinion is unpopular because at one point, we got a “we want tables” chant. They want their weapons so, I guess I’m yelling at clouds as Rich Fann might say. The ending felt abrupt, but the crowd was behind Edge. For me it’s a curious choice even though yes, Edge winning is the culmination of the story between him and Judgment Day. Balor is the guy that’s going to be here full time. I’m not too worried about it, but I’d have been fine with Balor winning.

There was a lot of time in between the Balor match and the entrances for Cody vs. Roman, but it didn’t seem to bother anybody. People were just talking amongst each other, drinking & eating, and having a good time.

On to the main event. Now look, again, I haven’t seen the TV yet. There was a sing-along for Cody’s song but not a lot of cheering, which was interesting. When the music stopped, he got booed. Now it could have been because the fans were anticipating Roman coming out soon, but I know what I heard. There was heat for Roman Reigns as well, as expected. I thought the gentleman playing his theme on the piano was a nice touch and I was able to see it from my seat. Once his theme started, I felt like I was hearing something I’ve never heard before. I’ve been to a Smackdown with a Roman Reigns entrance. This topped that and then some. The heat was legit, but I found it strange that Cody got booed. Things changed as the match went on and I think the Solo Sikoa involvement turned the crowd towards Cody.

The crowd felt a little fatigued at this point but not because they were bored. The match was great. I think they were just focused and saving their energy for the end, and it was there for sure. The Usos got big heat for coming out and Sami & KO a huge pop for bailing out Cody. They were in on the near falls, Cody hitting the Figure Four replicating his father’s biggest rival’s (Ric Flair) move, and the Bionic Elbow. When Cody hit Crossroads #1 and went for #2, the crowd was firmly behind him. The finish got heat as was expected, but not hatred from what I can tell. While the crowd certainly moved in Cody’s favor as the match went on, I’m still not sold that this audience is fully behind him as a main event act. Time will tell. After Roman left the ring there was a pause and Cody’s music played for a little bit. I’m not sure that made TV.

Overall Thoughts

My entire tenure at the Torch was always and will always be about the relationships I form. I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Zack Heydorn and chatting over a couple of beers before the show. It was like we’ve known each other for years and well technically, we have. I was a caller on Wrestling Night in America back in January of 2018 and spoke to Zack and Greg Parks. We instantly connected and have formed a friendship ever since. It was nice to be face to face, and I look forward to seeing him again. The same goes for Torch contributor Marcus Arias, who was sitting in my section. We got to chatting a couple of times and it was nice not only to meet him, but his family.

I tried to avoid evaluating the show since enough people have done that here and I wanted to provide what it felt like in the building. I will have to watch the show on Peacock when I have time just to color in some of the things I missed having been overwhelmed by the atmosphere. Greg Parks asked me about that specifically and understood my position. All the touches I mentioned including the canopy above the ring, the stage, the signs around the building, the merchandise stand made you feel like you were at something special. It will be interesting if I can make it to AEW Double or Nothing in May. I’m putting in for an LAS layover and will most certainly go if I’m able to get the trip. I sense the fan atmosphere and vibe will make that show feel special rather than the production, which is more what makes these WWE events stand out especially WrestleMania which is their bread and butter.

Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Thank you for reading!