Topic summary

WrestleMania 33

WrestleMania chronology

WrestleMania 33 was a 2017 professional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) and livestreamingevent produced by WWE, held for wrestlers from the promotion's main roster brands, Raw and SmackDown. It was the 33rd annual WrestleMania and took place on April 2, 2017, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Then-active WWE wrestlers The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) served as the hosts of the event.

Thirteen matches were contested at the event, including three on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, Roman Reigns defeated The Undertaker in a No Holds Barred match, giving Undertaker his second loss at WrestleMania. While the loss and the events immediately following the main event seemingly insinuated that Undertaker had retired, he would return to in-ring competition in 2018 at WrestleMania 34. In the main match from SmackDown, Randy Orton defeated Bray Wyatt to win his ninth WWE Championship. In the main match for Raw, Brock Lesnar defeated Goldberg to win the Universal Championship, thus becoming the first wrestler to win both the WWE and Universal titles. This was also Goldberg's first WrestleMania match since WrestleMania XX in 2004. The event also marked the surprise return of The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy), who won the Raw Tag Team Championship in a four-team ladder match.

This was the third WrestleMania held in the U.S. state of Florida, after WrestleMania XXIV in 2008, which was at the same venue when it was still known as the Florida Citrus Bowl, and WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012 in Miami Gardens. It was also the first WrestleMania held following the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016. As a result, it was the first time since WrestleMania 29 in 2013 in which two men's world championships were contested on the card, and also the first time ever for two women's world championships to be contested. It subsequently marked the first time that the Universal Championship, the SmackDown Women's Championship, and Raw's WWE Cruiserweight Championship were defended at a WrestleMania, with the latter occurring on the pre-show. This was also the first WrestleMania to be on the air past midnight Eastern Time.

Reception towards the event was mixed, although it was largely considered to be an improvement over WrestleMania 32. Praise was directed towards AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon, Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho, the Raw Tag Team Championship ladder match, Seth Rollins vs. Triple H, and the Universal Championship match. Criticism was reserved for the main event, the WWE Championship match, and the overall length of the show, which stretched past the seven-hour mark.