A record crowd of 101,763 people sat in awe of the spectacle that was WWE’s WrestleMania 32 Sunday night at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
The event hosted names from the past such as Sting and up-and-comers of the future like NXT’s Baron Corbin. Like the Ferris State Bulldog athletic teams, the performers put on a great show for their fans.
The event began with a ladder match for the prestigious Intercontinental Championship, won by the often overlooked Zack Ryder. Reminiscent of Ferris State’s very own wide receiver Shakur Sanders climbing over the safety to go up and grab the football, Ryder snagged the title that hung from Jerry Jones’ giant jumbotron.
The New Day may be the most popular group in the WWE today as the lovable Tag Team Champions who twerk in the ring and even have their own brand of cereal, Booty-O’s. Like the senior basketball tandem of James Chappell, Josh Fleming and Jibreel Jackson, the three men that make up The New Day put in a lot of work to leave it all out on the court, or in this case, the wrestling mat.
No matter how popular The New Day may be, nobody supersedes the fame of the Texas Rattlesnake, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. The Stone Cold of Ferris State is without a doubt former quarterback Jason Vander Laan. He may be gone from Ferris, but his name will always carry weight.
After The New Day took a loss to The League of Nations, Stone Cold, Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley strolled down the WrestleMania ramp and rearranged the faces of each of the New Day’s competitors.
With a Stone Cold Stunner to the Bulgarian Brute Rusev, the beautiful tune of Sweet Chin Music to Mexico’s Greatest Export Aberto Del Rio, and a Mandible Claw to the mouth of the Irishman Sheamus, the three legends stood tall, proving age doesn’t mean everything in the world of wrestling.
Like a Stone Cold Stunner out of nowhere, anything can happen in the WWE. The third annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal match saw dozens of men trying to throw each other over the top rope to claim the prestigious Andre the Giant Trophy. In what was a surprise to everyone watching, Shaquille O’Neal entered the battle royal. Lasting only a couple minutes, the contestants teamed up to eliminate the 7-foot-1 NBA Hall of Famer.
The WWE’s version of Ferris State’s Justin Zimmer, the monster Brock Lesnar, demolished crowd favorite Dean Ambrose in a street fight where all rules go out the window. Not even a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire could halt The Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar from sending Ambrose to Suplex City before pinning Ambrose for the three count.
One highlight of the night came in the form of the most electrifying man in sports entertainment, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson teaming up with John Cena to take down the Wyatt Family. You could say The Rock is the Gerald Mayhew of the WWE, as he always shows up in the clutch to send the crowd home happy.
Usually the most entertaining part of WrestleMania involves The Rock, but this year, Shane McMahon provided the wow moment. McMahon tried to silence The Undertaker once and for all by jumping off the 20-foot Hell in a Cell structure on to the announcers table below. He missed the Deadman, but if you have not seen the leap, find the GIF on Twitter and watch it ASAP. Undertaker got the victory after the big fall.
It was time to play the game in the main event as Triple H defended his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against the Samoan Monster Roman Reigns. Triple H is like the Bob Daniels of wrestling, the seasoned veteran who calculates strategic game plans to get the victory.
Triple H fought dirty like only The Game could, but his antics were not enough to fend off the challenger, as Reigns sealed the historic night standing tall as a three-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Whether it’s Snoop Dogg walking his cousin Sasha Banks to the ring for her WWE Women’s Championship match, Shaq randomly entering a battle royal or Randy Orton hitting the famous “RKO Out of Nowhere,” there is something in the world of wrestling for everyone, BROTHER!