By Ben Harris – One of the best times of the year for wrestling fans is quickly approaching yet again, in the form of WWE’s WrestleMania. This year will be the 33rd annual show of its flagship event, wrestling’s ‘Superbowl’ as it’s commonly referred to. Wrestlemania 33 will be held under the sunshine of Orlando, Florida, so any lucky fans watching the pay-per-view in person will be in for a special getaway. As is always the case, it’s expected that there will be a massive attendance.
This year’s extravaganza is considered by the company and fans to be the first of WWE’s ‘new era’, in which there’s been a huge wave of new, young wrestlers in the company along with some familiar faces of veterans. Last year’s show was panned by fans due to an injury-ridden roster and many underwhelming matches. However, with nearly a 100% healthy roster this time round, WWE are confident that this year will be a lot better.
How to watch WrestleMania 33?
WrestleMania 33 will take place on April 2nd at 1am, so technically April 3rd if you want to be specific, and the PPV is currently scheduled to be four hours long. There will also be a two hour long pre-show beforehand, available to watch on sites such as YouTube and WWE.com, which will include a discussion panel and matches excluded from the main show.
There are many ways to watch this spectacular occasion, including the old-fashioned manner of ordering it on Sky Sports Box Office. The best way, arguably among WWE fans, to watch it however is through the award-winning WWE Network, WWE’s own multi-device compatible streaming service similar to Netflix. Not only will you be able to watch WrestleMania, but you can watch past content and original programming produced by the entertainment company. Also, if you’re brand new to it you get a 30 day free trial, so you practically get to watch the PPV for free. For past subscribers, you’ll have to pay £9.99 but with the 1000s of hours of content available, that’s a really good deal.
For fans who don’t want to enjoy watching wrestling alone and wish to share their passion with others, there will be bars and clubs across the UK hosting viewing parties. These usually feature competitions and a whole night of wrestling theme songs being played. If you’ve ever wanted to party to John Cena’s music, this is your best chance. If the idea of watching with a bunch of strangers doesn’t provide much interest though, there’s the other option of hosting your own viewing parties at home with your fellow wrestling friends.
Match card
WWE certainly has a bumper match card lined up for WrestleMania 33, featuring massive stars from Brock Lesnar to Undertaker. Here are the three biggest matches being promoted, with some context:
Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, Raw’s main championship, is currently expected to be the main event. After a 12 year absence, the legendary Goldberg returned to WWE in late 2016 where he humiliated the seemingly unstoppable Brock Lesnar. He later went on to win the Universal title a month ago, again in dominant fashion. With gold now on the line, this is Lesnar’s opportunity for redemption.
Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton for Smackdown’s WWE Championship, former evil allies turned sadistic enemies. Once the Tag Team Champions, Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble back in January which was shortly followed by Bray Wyatt winning the WWE Championship. Originally, Orton refused to wrestle Wyatt before changing his mind in a brutal manner. This will not a pretty match.
The Undertaker vs Roman Reigns, a match simply about who’s the leader of the WWE squared circle. For over 25 years, The Undertaker has been the most dominant superstar. But now, Roman Reigns wants to be that superstar. To do that however, he’ll need to defeat the legend who is 23-1 at WrestleMania.
Other matches on the card will feature all the other championships being defended and personal rivalries. Veteran superstars such as John Cena and Triple H will showcase their ever-lasting talent, while up and comers such as Alexa Bliss and Baron Corbin will have their chance to make a statement. There’s plenty of exciting action to look forward to.
First impressions
Looking at the match card, there’s a lot of matches which will appeal to both passionate and casual fans. Stars will be made, and some legends will display their wrestling ability one last time on the big stage. There is some worry among certain fans about the amount of veteran wrestlers taking the spotlight, in place of some currently absent big names who are younger. Regardless of this however, this show has the potential to be one of the most mesmerising WrestleManias in recent memory.
