Counting 'em Down: For better or for worse, this is the Headline Surfer countdown of 2021's Top 100 biggest news stories of Central Florida along the tourism-driven stretch of Interstate 4 (Orlando Attractions and east to I-95 & the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona). Each recap segment is posted with its own headline, culminating with the unveiling of No. 1. Each segment includes a 2022 update.
Headline Surfer Photo illustration / ABOVE: Roman Reigns reigns supreme in WWE by prevailing in the headlining triple threat match over Edge and Daniel Bryan for his Universal Heavyweight belt on the second of two nights at Wrestlemania 37 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. In the Top inset: Reigns is shown flexing before his match in front of the Wrestlemania banner logo. In the Bottom left inset: Liv Morgan of the Riot Squad is shown outside the ropes waiting for a tag from Ruby Riott in the Women's Tag Team Turmoil match. The Riott Squad would go on to lose to Natalya and Tamina in the final elimination match. Bottom left inset: Bianca Belair is shown with a stunned look on her face after defeating Sasha Banks by pinfall to become the new WWE Raw Women's Champion. LEFT: Roman Reigns makes his entrance at Wrestlemania with his entourage. BELOW: Seth Rollins is upset by Cesaro during the Night 1 matches. BELOW: Seth Rollins loses to Cesaro and Alexa Bliss helps Randy Orton defeat The Fiend.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
TAMPA, Fla. -- Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the WWE was forced to hold its marquee pay-per-view event, Wrestlemania, over two nights back in April 2021 with Roman Reigns retaining his Universal Championship in a triple threat match over Edge and Daniel Bryan to close out the show Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium.
Prior to Wrestlemania, most of the WWE's matches were held in Orlando at the Amway Center without a live audience due to the pandemic.
Perhaps the most shocking matchup came at the close of the first night which saw Bianca Bellair defeat Sasha Banks to become the new Raw women's champion.
Here is a breakdown of the 14 matches at Wrestlemania 37 over the two nights:
Night 1 (Saturday, April 10):
• Singles match for the WWE Championship -- Bobby Lashley (c) (with MVP) defeated Drew McIntyre by technical submission in 18:20.
• Tag Team Turmoil match (Winners received a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match on Night 2) -- Natalya and Tamina won by last eliminating The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott) in 14:15.
• Singles match -- Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins by pinfall in 11:35.
• Tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship -- AJ Styles and Omos defeated champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) by pinfall in 9:45.
• Steel cage match -- Braun Strowman defeated Shane McMahon by pinfall in 11:25.
• Tag team match -- Bad Bunny and Damian Priest defeated The Miz and John Morrison by pinfall in 15:05.
• Singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship -- Challenger Bianca Belair defeated Sasha Banks by pinfall in 17:15.
Night 2 (Sunday, April 11):
• Singles match -- Randy Orton defeated The Fiend (with Alexa Bliss) by pinfall in 5:50.
• Tag team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship -- Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler (c) defeated Natalya and Tamina by technical submission in 14:20.
• Singles match -- Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn (with Logan Paul) by pinfall in 9:20.
• Singles match for the WWE United States Championship -- Sheamus defeated champion Riddle by pinfall in 10:50.
• Nigerian Drum Fight for the WWE Intercontinental Championship -- Apollo Crews defeated champion Big E by pinfall in 6:50.
• Singles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship -- Rhea Ripley defeated champion Asuka by pinfall in 13:30.
Triple Threat match for the WWE Universal Championship -- Champion Roman Reigns (with Jey Uso and Paul Heyman) defeated Edge and Daniel Bryan by pinfall in 22:40.
In that main event, Roman Reigns successfully defended the Universal Championship against Edge and Daniel Bryan, thanks in part to interference by Jey Uso who attacked both Edge and Bryan with superkicks.
In the closing moments, Uso attacked Edge. After Edge performed a Spear on Uso, Reigns intercepted Edge with his own Spear. Reigns then performed the Con-Chair-To on Edge and then laid Edge's body across Bryan's and pinned both at the same time to retain his Universal championship belt.
In the opening night's main event, Bianca Belair attempted a 450 Splash on Banks, but she raised her knees to block the maneuver. As Banks applied the Bank Statement, Belair reached the ropes and the referee called off the submission.
Belair eventually performed her 450 splash on Banks for a near-fall. In the closing moments of the match, Belair became more aggressive and whipped Banks with her long ponytail before performing a Kiss of Death on Banks to win the Raw Women's championship belt.
Wrestlemania 37 was originally scheduled to take place on March 28, 2021, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. But due to COVID-19 restrictions in California, WWE rescheduled and moved the event to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, which was the originally planned venue for WrestleMania 36 before the pandemic forced the event to be relocated and held behind closed doors at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
In August 2020, Florida loosened its COVID-19 restrictions. As a result, the event marked the first time WWE had ticketed fans in attendance for an event during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a limited capacity, WWE claimed to have sold out of all available tickets and had an attendance of 25,675 spectators for each night of Wrestlemania 37.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.