Photo Source: WWE.com
Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
Result: Seth Rollins pinned The Miz to become the NEW Intercontinental Champion
Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
First great Mania moment of the night goes to The Miz with the text overlay in his entrance. It hits all the important Miz talking points – Hot Wife, for example – and if anyone gets that kind of treatment, it makes sense for it to be the pompous A-Lister.
#HOTWIFE#wrestlemania pic.twitter.com/e6hGQv3Tb9
— The Sportster (@WrestlingSheet) April 8, 2018
Finn Balor being flanked by the LGBTQ community for his entrance was great in a (too) sweet way. And, uh, Seth Rollins looks like a White Walker? IT’S ON, BABY.
Things picked up in a big way right off the bat. A rapid fire sequence of pin attempts from all three superstars ended with Balor taking to the skies with a picture-perfect topé con giro. Rollins followed up back in the ring with a flying clothesline – and he got some height on it, too – and a double blockbuster. All this happened in the first five minutes of the match, too.
IT'S #WrestleMania, BABY!@FinnBalor pic.twitter.com/uphOH7DTMi
— WWE WrestleMania (@WrestleMania) April 8, 2018
The battle of the Sling Blades between Rollins and Balor was predictable, but I guess necessary. There was more than enough good stuff in this one to let that slide. Tons of close near falls, crazy spots – that frog splash by Rollins to break up the figure four was one of the most beautiful moves I’ve ever seen.
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/983122865229774849
Seth nearly killing himself by turning a Skull Crushing Finale into a Crown of the Head Spiking Finale was terrifying, but it capped off a great sequence from all three superstars – yes, there were a lot of those in the match. I don’t like Balor always being one step ahead of Rollins on the superplex-Falcon Arrow combo, but that’s a minor complaint in the greater context of this match.
That's one way to break up a pin attempt!#WrestleMania @FinnBalor pic.twitter.com/pfsrbpiTzJ
— WWE WrestleMania (@WrestleMania) April 8, 2018
There was so much going on at the end of this one. Miz hit a super Skull Crushing Finale – which Michael Cole inexplicably called a bulldog, which ugh – but Balor broke up the pin at 2.9999999 with a Coup de Grace.
There's NO HOLDING BACK when the #ICTitle is on the line on The #GrandestStageOfThemAll! @FinnBalor @WWERollins @mikethemiz #WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/LwP4kZLvLQ
— WWE (@WWE) April 8, 2018
After Balor hit another, Coup de Grace on The Miz, he was slow to cover, giving Rollins time to hit the Blackout on both superstars. A separate stomp to Miz sealed the deal, and Seth Rollins is the newest WWE Grand Slam Champion.
As the one and only @HowardFinkel would say...
— WWE WrestleMania (@WrestleMania) April 8, 2018
HERE IS YOUR WINNER AND NEWWWWWWW #ICChampion, @WWERollins! #WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/MrWh15ze93
Man, what an opener. Clearly, these three guys were watching TakeOver the night before and did their damndest to top that fantastic show. But this was 20+ minutes of fire, and it sets a great tone for the rest of the show.