The biggest day on the sports entertainment calendar took place this past Sunday as Dallas, TX hosted WrestleMania 32. The spectacle was a mixed-bag, as some fans left satisfied while many left pissed off. Roman Reigns was crowned champion; WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg escorted his cousin Sasha Banks to the ring and Stephanie McMahon gifted us all with a Mad Max-inspired pirate hooker performance. Bravo, Stephanie!

Taking in everything we witnessed, here are 5 key moments that made an impression on us.

NXT TAKEOVER: DALLAS STEALS THE WEEKEND

First thing we learned is that the WWE might want to rethink having a NXT show right before WrestleMania. The “little brother” of the main brand delivered, hands down, one of the best wrestling cards in the last five to ten years. While WrestleMania 32 got all of the hype and ESPN coverage, NXT TakeOver: Dallas is the event people are talking about.

Shinsuke Nakamura is the real deal. His NXT debut match against fan-favorite Sami Zayn was the match-of-the-year. Entertaining, compelling and brutal, you couldn’t ask for more. This five-star brawl had that rare magic of creating new fans, while reminding hardcore fans why they love pro-wrestling. 

Other highlights included a bloody and classic bout between NXT champion Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, as a ravenous crowd chanted “Let Joe Bleed!” With blood pouring from a gash over his eye, Joe looked like something out of a horror movie. In addition, two new champions were also crowned, as Asuka defeated Myspace friend Bayley for the Women’s Championship, while the future of tag team wrestling  arrived in the form of new champs American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable).

THE NEW DAY BECOME CARTOON CHARACTERS

It’s no secret that we love The New Day. Hell, we crowned them Best Picture winners in our version of the Oscars. What we learned at WrestleMania is that the unicorn-horned trio is still the most entertaining act in the company. When you make your grand entrance out of a giant cereal box (I repeat: A GIANT CEREAL BOX) while dressed as anime characters…you’re so money!

On the grandest stage of them all, The New Day took their love of video games and superheroes to the next level as they came out dressed somewhere between a Power Ranger and DragonBall Z! How can you not love their outrageous acts and continuous pop culture references?! Here’s hoping that at WrestleMania 33, the trio come out dressed as robot lions to form Voltron or as Ghostbusters with proton packs, chasing ghosts.

SHAQ-FU IS REAL

In the weirdest, out-of-nowhere cameo of the night, newly minted NBA Hall of Famer, Shaquille O’Neal competed in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale. Squaring off against other behemoths like The Big Show and Kane, Shaq did some of his best acting since STEEL, in trying to look like a pro-wrestler. His brief but hilarious attempt at brawling, resulted with him being thrown out of the ring by a team of WWE Superstars.

YouTube

A long-time wrestling fan (having appeared on numerous RAW’s and alongside Hulk Hogan at Bash at the Beach), Shaq lived out a childhood dream of competing at WrestleMania. Shaq’s appearance is probably the closest thing we’ll get to a live-action take on his infamous video game, Shaq-Fu. Younger fans have no idea what I’m talking about, so check out this video and witness the 16-bit magic:

THE WORD OF THE NIGHT: RANDOM

An unpredictable night of results is a good thing, but WrestleMania 32 was filled with odd bookings and “Huh?” winners. What we learned is that the much-maligned creative team is still missing the mark with the WWE Universe.

Just when Kevin Owens was bringing respect back to the Intercontinental title, Zack Ryder wins it for a night, only to lose it to The Miz the next. Might as well just have someone piss on the title. Following Sting’s WrestleMania loss last year and AJ Styles’ loss to Chris Jericho this year, one should expect a top tier free agent to job next year. Finally, we have a green Baron Corbin winning the battle royal in wasted spot that should have gone to a better performer like Samoa Joe.

The WWE’s trend of pushing past stars and part-timers continued at Mania, as we saw a parade of yesteryear favorites such as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and The Rock. Unfortunately, their appearances came at the expense of current young superstars. A glaring example of this is the travesty known as The Wyatt Family, as they were wasted once again, losing to The Rock in six seconds!

Keeping with the random theme, here’s a zombie wrestling:

THE “WE ALMOST SAW A MAN DIE” MOMENT

Well, Shane McMahon’s not dead! That’s what we learned when he appeared this Monday Night on RAW. The night before at WrestleMania, his status between here and the afterlife was in question after he jumped off the top of the 20-foot Hell in a Cell.

Shane was carted off as he received medical attention, but the man should receive everyone’s praise for taking another crazy bump. Only second to Mick Foley’s infamous fall from 1998’s Hell in a Cell, McMahon carried this match, making the “Undertaker’s Father” (my affectionate nickname for Taker) look good.

Even though most of us expected him to do something crazy like this, at 46 years old with three young kids, hopefully this is the last time we see Shane sacrificing his body for the family business.