WrestleMania 35

MetLife Stadium during WrestleMania 35.

WrestleMania is considered WWE's flagship event, having first been held in 1985. It is the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April.[4] It was the first of WWE's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four".[5] WrestleMania is ranked the sixth most valuable sports brand in the world by Forbes[6] and has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment.[7] The event was the fourth WrestleMania to be held in the state of New Jersey (after IV, V and 29), and the sixth in the New York metropolitan area (after I, 2, X, XX, and 29). It featured wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands.

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.[8] On November 5, 2018, traveling packages for the event were sold while tickets went on sale on November 16, 2018.[9][10] On the March 11 episode of Raw, current wrestler Alexa Bliss was revealed as the host of WrestleMania 35.[11][12] On the following episode, Elias announced that he would have a musical performance at the event.[13]

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.[14] Joan Jett performed her song "Bad Reputation" live for Ronda Rousey's ring entrance.[15] Gospel music star and syndicated radio host Yolanda Adams performed "America the Beautiful" to begin the main show.[16]

The event comprised sixteen matches, including four on the Kickoff pre-show. The matches resulted from scripted storylines, in which wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands,[17][18] with storylines produced on their weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live,[19] and the cruiserweight-exclusive 205 Live.[20]

Becky Lynch won the 2019 Women's Royal Rumble match and chose to face Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 35. She was replaced by Charlotte Flair, but found her way back into the match, which became Winner Takes All after Flair won the SmackDown Women's Championship.

At SummerSlam, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair were involved in a triple threat match for the SmackDown Women's Championship against the then champion Carmella, which Flair won. Afterwards, Lynch attacked Flair, ending their friendship,[21] and Lynch defeated Flair for the championship at Hell in a Cell.[22][23] 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;[24] during the match, Flair brutally attacked Rousey with weapons.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27][28]

Lynch was then suspended for refusing a medical examination on her knee.[29] After getting medically cleared, however, Vince McMahon suspended her again and introduced Flair as Rousey's WrestleMania opponent.[30] Over the following weeks, Lynch continued to violate her suspension and attacked both Rousey and Flair until the suspension was lifted.[31] 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.[32] After Flair defeated Asuka for the SmackDown Women's Championship,[33] the WrestleMania match was made Winner Takes All with both titles on the line.[34] The match was also confirmed as the first-ever women's match to main event WrestleMania.[35]

Seth Rollins won the 2019 Men's Royal Rumble match and challenged Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35.

Despite Vince McMahon repeatedly attempting to prevent it, Kofi Kingston faced Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35, his first one-on-one world title opportunity after 11 years in WWE.

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.[27] 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.[28]

On the February 12 episode of SmackDown, Kofi Kingston replaced an injured Mustafa Ali in a gauntlet match to determine who would enter last in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber; during the match, Kingston pinned WWE Champion Daniel Bryan in the first match of the gauntlet.[36] At the event, Bryan retained the title by last eliminating Kingston.[37] On the following SmackDown, Kingston was granted a WWE Championship match at Fastlane after pinning Bryan again in a six-man tag team match,[38] however, Vince McMahon replaced Kingston with the returning Kevin Owens.[39] On the SmackDown following Fastlane, The New Day (Big E, Kingston, and Xavier Woods) confronted Mr. McMahon for tricking Kingston into believing that he was added back into the title match at Fastlane. Mr. McMahon decided that if Kingston won a gauntlet match, he would receive a WWE Championship match against Bryan at WrestleMania.[40] Kingston won, but Mr. McMahon added one more opponent, which was the champion Bryan, who defeated Kingston.[41] On the March 26 episode, The New Day teased leaving WWE and once again confronted Mr. McMahon, who decided that Kingston would in fact receive the championship match if Big E and Woods won a tag team gauntlet match, which they did.[33]

On SmackDown 1000 on October 16, 2018, Batista, who had last wrestled in WWE in 2014, took part in an Evolution reunion. He praised fellow Evolution member Triple H for having done everything in the wrestling business except defeat him.[42] Batista then attacked fellow Evolution member Ric Flair before the latter's 70th birthday celebration on the February 25, 2019 episode of Raw, seeking Triple H's attention.[43] Batista demanded a final match against Triple H at WrestleMania; Triple H made it a No Holds Barred match.[11] Batista accused Triple H of always having kept him down,[44] and demanded that Triple H put his career on the line and Triple H agreed.[45]

Kurt Angle had his farewell match at WrestleMania 35 against Baron Corbin.

On the March 11 episode of Raw, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle began his farewell tour, culminating with his farewell match at WrestleMania.[11] The following week, Angle chose Baron Corbin as his final opponent as Corbin had caused Angle many problems during the latter's tenure as Raw General Manager (2017–2018) and eventually supplanted him, temporarily becoming Acting Raw General Manager.[44][34]

At Crown Jewel, Shane McMahon won the WWE World Cup, replacing The Miz in the finals, who was unable to compete after a pre-match brawl.[46] Following this, The Miz and Shane formed a tag team. They won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at the Royal Rumble,[27] but following losses at Elimination Chamber[37] and Fastlane, Shane attacked Miz and Miz's father.[32] On SmackDown, Shane accused Miz of using him and he wanted to beat him up again, scheduling a match for WrestleMania.[40] Miz challenged Shane to make their match falls count anywhere and Shane agreed.[33]

After weeks of disparaging comments about one another, Randy Orton eliminated AJ Styles in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship.[37] At Fastlane, Orton attacked Elias from behind but was himself attacked by Styles.[32] On the following SmackDown, Orton took umbrage with Styles calling SmackDown "the house that AJ Styles built", as Orton began his WWE career on SmackDown in 2002, whereas Styles spent most of that time on the independent circuit until his WWE debut in 2016. Styles responded that Orton had everything handed to him while Styles had to actually work for it. He challenged Orton to a match at WrestleMania and Orton accepted.[40]

After his return from battling leukemia, Roman Reigns was constantly taunted by Drew McIntyre, who challenged Reigns to a match at WrestleMania 35; Reigns' first singles match in six months

Roman Reigns, who had been on hiatus due to leukemia since October 2018,[47] returned on the February 25, 2019 episode of Raw and stated that his leukemia was in remission.[43] After Fastlane, Drew McIntyre attacked Reigns, defeated Dean Ambrose in a Falls Count Anywhere match,[11] defeated Seth Rollins, and then challenged Reigns to a match at WrestleMania.[44] McIntyre claimed that he destroyed The Shield and brought up Reigns' leukemia and family, prompting Reigns to accept the challenge.[45]

After becoming the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Champions at Elimination Chamber, The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) stated that they would defend the titles across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.[48][32] They retained their championships against Raw's Nia Jax and Tamina at Fastlane,[32] and were then called out by SmackDown's The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce).[40] On the March 18 episode of Raw, WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix came out of retirement to reform her tag team with Natalya and challenge for the championship at WrestleMania.[44] The next night on SmackDown, The IIconics defeated The Boss 'n' Hug Connection in a non-title match.[41] The champions were then scheduled to defend the titles against Jax and Tamina, Phoenix and Natalya, and The IIconics in a fatal four-way tag team match at WrestleMania.[45]

At Elimination Chamber, Finn Bálor defeated Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush in a handicap match to win Lashley's Intercontinental Championship.[37] Lashley regained the title on the March 11 episode of Raw thanks to assistance from Rush.[11] On the March 25 episode, Bálor earned another title match at WrestleMania by defeating Lashley and Jinder Mahal in another handicap match,[45] and Bálor warned Lashley that he would be facing "The Demon".[34]

On the April 2 episode of SmackDown, WrestleMania host Alexa Bliss informed The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) that while forfeiting their gauntlet match against The New Day the previous week was honorable, there would be repercussions. She then scheduled them to defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania in a fatal four-way tag team match against The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus), Aleister Black and Ricochet, and Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura.[49]

On the February 19 episode of 205 Live, General Manager Drake Maverick scheduled an eight-man tournament with the winner facing Buddy Murphy for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship on the WrestleMania 35 Kickoff pre-show.[50] Over the next few weeks, Tony Nese, Drew Gulak, Oney Lorcan, Cedric Alexander, Kalisto, The Brian Kendrick, Humberto Carrillo, and Akira Tozawa competed in the tournament,[51][52][53] which was won by Nese.[54]

On the March 4 episode of Raw, Braun Strowman was confronted backstage by Saturday Night Live's Colin Jost and Michael Che; Jost questioned the legitimacy of professional wrestling, resulting in Strowman choke lifting him.[31] The following week, Che and Jost apologized and gifted a brand new car to Strowman only for Strowman to dismantle the car.[11] On the March 25 episode, Strowman challenged Jost to join him in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Che agreed on Jost's behalf, who in turn agreed that Che would also participate.[44]

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.[55]

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.[55]

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 title and end his 269-match losing streak.[55]

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, however, Strowman overpowered the four and eliminated The Hardys. 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 to win the match and the trophy.[55]

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 and proceeded to introduce his client.[1] 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.[1]

Next, AJ Styles faced Randy Orton. During the match, Orton attempted an "RKO", only for Styles to counter several times. 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.[1]

After that, The Usos defended the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus), Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura, and Aleister Black & 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 manoeuvre involving seven wrestlers. In the end, The Usos delivered a double "Superfly Splash" on Sheamus to retain the title.[1]

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.[1]

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 title.[1]

After that, Daniel Bryan (accompanied by Rowan) defended the WWE Championship against Kofi Kingston (accompanied by Big E and Xavier Woods). During the match, Rowan prevented Kingston from attacking Bryan outside the ring which prompted Big E and Woods to incapacitate Rowan. This allowed Kingston to get Bryan back in the ring. Bryan performed the running knee for a near-fall. Bryan applied the "LeBell Lock", however, Kingston escaped. In the climax, Kingston performed a "Trouble in Paradise" on Bryan to win his first WWE Championship, also becoming WWE's 30th Triple Crown Champion, 20th Grand Slam Champion, and the first African-born WWE Champion. Kingston celebrated with his sons while Big E and Woods discarded Bryan's custom eco-friendly championship belt and presented Kingston with the standard leather and gold-plated WWE Championship belt.[1]

Next, Samoa Joe defended the United States Championship against Rey Mysterio. Mysterio started with a "619" on Joe. As Mysterio went to capitalize, he was caught by Joe in the "Coquina Clutch" and passed out. Joe retained the title in a one-minute match.[1]

In the following match, Drew McIntyre faced Roman Reigns. McIntyre dominated Reigns most of the match. In the end, as McIntyre attacked Reigns with a "Glasgow Kiss", Reigns bounced off the ropes and performed a superman punch and a spear on McIntyre to win the match.[1]

After that, Elias started his WrestleMania concert. He performed on the guitar while an edited video showing him performing on piano and drum set played simultaneously. He was then interrupted by a Babe Ruth video, followed by John Cena, who came out in his Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick (circa 2002–2004) and sporting a New York Yankees jersey. Cena insulted Elias and then attacked him with an "F-U" (the original name for Cena's "Attitude Adjustment" during his Thuganomics gimmick).[1]

After fighting Triple H in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 35, Batista retired from professional wrestling.

Next, Triple H put his career on the line in a No Holds Barred match against Batista. Early in the match, Triple H pulled out Batista's nose ring with pliers. Later, Batista attempted a "Batista Bomb" on Triple H on a broadcast table, only for Triple H to counter and execute a spear on Batista. Back in the ring, Batista performed a spear and a "Batista Bomb" on Triple H, both resulting in near-falls. Triple H executed a powerbomb on Batista on the ring stairs and a "Pedigree" for another near-fall. The end came when Ric Flair appeared and handed Triple H his signature sledgehammer. Triple H struck Batista with the hammer and followed it up with a second "Pedigree" to win the match. Triple H kept his in-ring career intact[1] while Batista announced his retirement from professional wrestling shortly after the event.[56][57]

After that, Baron Corbin faced Kurt Angle in Angle's farewell match. In the end, Corbin performed the "End of Days" on Angle to win the match. Following the match, Angle delivered a short retirement speech, thanking the fans.[1]

In the penultimate match, Bobby Lashley (accompanied by Lio Rush) defended the Intercontinental Championship against Finn Bálor in his "Demon" persona. Lashley performed a spear on Bálor through the ropes and then again in the ring for a near-fall. In the climax, Bálor performed a powerbomb and the "Coup de Grâce" on Lashley to regain the title for a second time.[1]

Becky Lynch defeated Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in the main event to become Raw and SmackDown Women's Champion

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. In the end, Flair locked in the "Figure-Eight Leglock" on Rousey. Lynch broke up the hold and, together with Rousey, put Flair through a table. Rousey 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.[1]

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.[78] NJ Transit had expected from 8,000 to 13,000 riders; instead 33,000 headed for the trains after the event.[79]

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.[78] The failure drew comparisons to similar rail delays that accompanied Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in 2014, which had attracted almost the same amount of fans to the Meadowlands.[79]

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."[78] 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.[79]