WrestleMania 33

Background

WrestleMania is considered WWE's flagship event, having been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment. The event was the second WrestleMania to be held at the Camping World Stadium, which previously hosted WrestleMania XXIV in 2008 under the venue's previous name of Orlando Citrus Bowl, and the third to be held in the state of Florida, the second being WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012. Tickets went on sale on November 18, 2016, with individual tickets costing $38 to $2,130. On October 31, 2016, traveling packages with accommodation ranging from $950 to $5,900 per person were sold. New subscribers to the WWE Network could watch the event at no additional cost. A two-hour pre-show preceded the main show, with the second hour broadcast simultaneously on USA Network. On February 20, 2017, The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) of WWE's Raw brand were confirmed to be the hosts of WrestleMania 33.

The four official theme songs for the event were "Greenlight" (by Pitbull feat. Flo Rida and LunchMoney Lewis), "Like a Champion" (by Danger Twins), "Flame" (by Tinashe), and "Am I Savage?" (by Metallica). At the event, Pitbull performed "Options" with Stephen Marley before performing "Greenlight" with Flo Rida and LunchMoney Lewis. American singer Tinashe performed "America the Beautiful" to kick off WrestleMania 33. The Kickoff pre-show was broadcast on the WWE Network, WWE.com, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube, with USA Network joining the live coverage for the second hour.

Beginning at WrestleMania 32, a match between Big Show and NBA star Shaquille O'Neal had been teased from various media outlets, including WWE. Shaq was a surprise entrant in the 2016 André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal where he and Big Show faced off, but the other participants eliminated both of them. In July at the 2016 ESPY Awards on the red carpet, Show and Shaq had another brief confrontation. A match was proposed for WrestleMania 33, which Shaq accepted. In January 2017, the two began calling each other out on social media, posting workout videos of themselves preparing for the potential match. Big Show then began to doubt Shaq's commitment to the match. By the end of February, Shaq said that it looked like the match was not going to happen, but he would still train just in case. The following week, Shaq said that discussions were back on between him and WWE. However, Big Show's announcement as a participant in the 2017 André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal indicated that the match was off. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the match was canceled due to monetary reasons, as both parties could not agree on a deal. Big Show said that he really wanted to do the match, especially since this would probably be his last WrestleMania and blamed Shaq's weight as a reason for why Shaq backed out.

According to Dave Meltzer in January 2017, a WrestleMania 33 match between The Undertaker and John Cena was scrapped as Vince McMahon had "a different vision for the show and [was] thinking [about the] longterm picture not short-term."

Storylines

The card featured thirteen matches, including three on the WrestleMania Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines and had results predetermined by WWE on the Raw and SmackDown brands. Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live, and 205 Live, the latter of which is cruiserweight-exclusive.

The winner of the Royal Rumble match traditionally earns a world championship match at WrestleMania. With the reintroduction of the brand extension in mid-2016, which resulted in two world titles in the promotion again, the Royal Rumble winner received a match for either Raw's Universal Championship or SmackDown's WWE Championship. Randy Orton won the 2017 Royal Rumble, the second in his career, and thereby earned a title match for his brand's WWE Championship. At Elimination Chamber on February 12, Orton's fellow Wyatt Family member Bray Wyatt won the Elimination Chamber match to become the new WWE Champion, and then retained the championship against John Cena and AJ Styles on the following SmackDown Live. Afterwards, Orton said that he refused to fight Wyatt at WrestleMania due to his devotion to Wyatt. SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan then scheduled a 10-man battle royal to find a new opponent for Wyatt at WrestleMania. The battle royal ended in a draw when both Styles and Luke Harper went over the top rope simultaneously. Styles then defeated Harper the following week to become the number one contender. However, at the conclusion of the episode, Orton appeared on the TitanTron, interrupting Wyatt, and was at The Wyatt Family compound, which was also the burial site of Sister Abigail, the cult leader that Wyatt followed and named his finisher after. Orton declared that he was no longer Wyatt's servant and that he only joined The Wyatt Family to destroy them from the inside (Orton joined the Wyatts in October 2016 after failing to defeat them in several matches). Orton then set the compound ablaze, which caused Wyatt to have a mental breakdown, and declared that he was coming for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. Due to this confusion, Daniel Bryan and SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon decided that Orton would face Styles on the March 7 episode of SmackDown Live to determine the decisive number one contender for Wyatt, in which Orton defeated Styles. On the March 14 episode, Orton was interrupted by Wyatt, who claimed to now have the powers of Sister Abigail as he covered himself in her ashes. The following week, Harper warned Orton about Wyatt's new "powers", but said he would take out Wyatt on the next episode. Later, Orton was attacked backstage by followers of Wyatt, and Wyatt performed a ritual on Orton. On the final SmackDown Live before WrestleMania, after Wyatt defeated Harper, Orton appeared on the TitanTron and claimed to have destroyed the powers of Sister Abigail.

At WrestleMania XX in 2004, Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar in their first match against each other. Both left the company after the event, but Lesnar returned in 2012. After twelve years, Goldberg returned in 2016 and immediately began a feud with Lesnar, thanks in part due to the WWE 2K17 video game, which featured Lesnar on the cover and Goldberg as the pre-order bonus. This culminated in a match at Survivor Series, in which Goldberg humiliated Lesnar by defeating him in one minute and twenty-six seconds. Both then competed in the Royal Rumble match. Lesnar entered at number twenty-six and dispatched of several other wrestlers before Goldberg came out at number twenty-eight and once again humiliated Lesnar by quickly eliminating him from the match (Goldberg was soon after eliminated by The Undertaker). The next night on Raw, Lesnar and Paul Heyman appeared and challenged Goldberg to one final match at WrestleMania 33. The next week on Raw, Goldberg accepted Lesnar's challenge and also challenged Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship at Fastlane. Lesnar and Heyman said in an interview with Michael Cole that if Goldberg won the Universal Championship, Lesnar would challenge him for the title at WrestleMania. Goldberg appeared the next week and promised that he would defeat Owens and become Universal Champion going into WrestleMania against Lesnar. At Fastlane on March 5, Goldberg kept his promise and turned his WrestleMania match against Lesnar into a match for the Universal Championship. The next night on Raw, Lesnar confronted Goldberg and offered to shake his hand to congratulate him, but Goldberg refused. Heyman then exclaimed that at WrestleMania, Goldberg would be "Brock's bitch" and Lesnar attacked Goldberg with an F-5. The following week, Lesnar and Heyman gloated about Lesnar giving an F-5 to Goldberg and Heyman said that Lesnar would have the "greatest comeback in sports entertainment history" at WrestleMania. On the final Raw before WrestleMania, Goldberg and Lesnar had one last confrontation where Goldberg executed a spear on Lesnar.

In 2014, The Shield (Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns) were involved in a rivalry with Evolution (Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista). After multiple losses to The Shield, Batista out of anger left the WWE, which disbanded Evolution. Triple H then revealed his "Plan B": Seth Rollins. Rollins attacked his former Shield brothers and joined Triple H in The Authority, turning into a villain. Rollins was the forefront of The Authority for over a year and won the then-WWE World Heavyweight Championship (now WWE Championship) at WrestleMania 31, but was forced to vacate the title in November 2015 due to injury. He returned in mid-2016 and was drafted to the Raw brand and then unsuccessfully faced Finn Bálor for the inaugural WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam. After Bálor was forced to vacate the title due to injury, Rollins qualified for a fatal four-way match for the vacant title. During the match, a returning Triple H, who had not been seen since WrestleMania 32, aided Rollins in eliminating Reigns, but then turned on Rollins by attacking him with a Pedigree, which allowed Kevin Owens to win the championship. Rollins did not address the incident until December, when he called out Triple H. On the January 23, 2017 episode of Raw, Rollins faced Sami Zayn. In the climax of the match, Triple H's music played, which distracted Rollins and allowed Zayn to win Rollins' spot in the Royal Rumble match. Rollins appeared at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio the day before the Royal Rumble and challenged Triple H to a match. Triple H came out and signaled for security who escorted Rollins away. On the January 30 episode of Raw, Raw Commissioner and Triple H's wife Stephanie McMahon confronted Rollins about his appearance at TakeOver and revealed that Triple H would be there later that night. Triple H showed up and declared that Rollins disappointed him and called Rollins out. As Rollins made his way to the ring, he was attacked by Samoa Joe, who made his main roster debut. Joe's attack on Rollins re-injured the same knee that had sidelined Rollins for six months. It was then reported that Rollins would be out of action for up to eight weeks. Rollins appeared on the February 27 episode of Raw to address the status of his injury where he said that it was unlikely that he would be at WrestleMania 33. Triple H came out with Joe and warned Rollins not to come to WrestleMania, because if he does, he would end him. Rollins then declared that he would be at WrestleMania. The following week, videos of Rollins' rehabilitation were shown and Triple H said that Rollins was ignorant for going against doctors advice and trying to compete at WrestleMania. The next week, Triple H got into an altercation with Raw General Manager Mick Foley, after which Rollins came down, dropped his crutch, and attacked Triple H. However, Triple H recovered and attacked Rollins' knee. On the March 20 episode, Foley was fired as Raw General Manager for his actions and Rollins' physical therapist Kevin Wilk said that Rollins should not compete at WrestleMania. Triple H later challenged Rollins to a non-sanctioned match, which would forbid Rollins from suing the WWE if he were to get injured again. The following week, Rollins signed the contract, thus making the match official, and he brawled with Triple H.

At the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker was a competitor in the titular Royal Rumble match. Roman Reigns, who lost his Universal Championship match earlier that night, entered the match at number thirty and eventually eliminated Undertaker from the match. The two had a stare down and Reigns claimed that the ring was his yard now; for many years, Undertaker had claimed that the ring was his yard. On the March 6 episode of Raw, Braun Strowman, who lost to Reigns at Fastlane, called Reigns out and stated that Reigns got lucky, but The Undertaker came out instead. The Undertaker stared down Strowman until Strowman left the ring. As The Undertaker was about to leave, Reigns eventually came out and confronted him. Reigns claimed that Strowman had called him out and again claimed that the ring was his yard now. The two had a stare down and both looked up to the WrestleMania sign. The Undertaker then attacked Reigns with a chokeslam. A match between the two at WrestleMania 33 was confirmed the following week. Later on Raw during Reigns' match against Jinder Mahal, The Undertaker's gong sounded, which caused a minor distraction for Reigns, however, Reigns defeated Mahal. After the match, Reigns called out Undertaker, but Shawn Michaels came out instead and warned Reigns about The Undertaker and that he needed to focus. Reigns said that he appreciated the advice, but said that he would retire The Undertaker just as Undertaker retired Michaels at WrestleMania XXVI. The following week, during Reigns' Fastlane rematch with Strowman, The Undertaker appeared and attacked Strowman with a chokeslam. As Undertaker turned his attention to Reigns, Reigns attacked Undertaker with a spear. After Reigns left the ring, Undertaker sat up and taunted Reigns with his throat slash gesture. On the final Raw before WrestleMania, The Undertaker delivered a promo, stating that the graveyard would be Reigns' yard after WrestleMania.

At the Royal Rumble, AJ Styles lost the WWE Championship to John Cena. Styles was immediately entered into the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, but SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon also promised Styles that he would get a one-on-one rematch for the title if he did not win the title back at the pay-per-view. At Elimination Chamber, Bray Wyatt eliminated both Cena and Styles to win the championship. Cena then immediately invoked his rematch clause, but Styles intervened, stating he should get his first. SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan then scheduled a triple threat match for the WWE Championship, where Wyatt retained. Randy Orton then refused his right as the Royal Rumble winner to face Wyatt for the title at WrestleMania 33, so Bryan scheduled a 10-man battle royal to determine a new number one-contender. Styles was entered into the battle royal, which ended in a draw between him and Luke Harper. The two faced each other in a number one contender's match the following week. Styles pinned Harper, but the referee did not see Harper's foot on the rope. Shane came out and restarted the match, which angered Styles, even though he would defeat Harper once again. At the conclusion of the show, Orton reclaimed his right to face Wyatt at WrestleMania. Bryan and Shane decided that Styles would have to compete in another number one contender's match, this time against Orton, who won. After the show, an angered Styles got into a heated argument backstage with Shane. The following week, an irate Styles said that he was tired of Bryan and Shane. He said because of them, he did not have a match at WrestleMania, but Orton, who committed arson, did. Later backstage, Styles attacked Shane and threw him through a car window. Styles was subsequently (kayfabe) fired by Bryan, but at the end of the show, an injured Shane challenged Styles to a match at WrestleMania, which Styles accepted. At the end of the following week's episode, Shane called out Styles and the two brawled, which ended with Shane performing a Leap of Faith on Styles through the broadcast table. The following week, the two had a contract signing to make the match official and the two traded barbs.

In mid-2016, Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens began teaming and assisting each other. Jericho played a part in Owens winning the vacant WWE Universal Championship, which ultimately led to them becoming best friends. Jericho then assisted Owens in retaining the Universal title against Seth Rollins at Clash of Champions, and again at Hell in a Cell. The two were then made co-captains of Team Raw's men's team at Survivor Series, but ultimately lost to Team SmackDown. On the following episode of Raw, tensions were high as Jericho was about to blame Owens for using "The List of Jericho" as a weapon. Owens defended himself, stating that he was trying to protect Jericho from being eliminated. The two then agreed that it was Rollins and Roman Reigns' fault for the team's loss. Rollins then faced Owens for the Universal title, but Jericho again interfered. The following week, Reigns challenged Owens for the Universal title, but questioned Owens' ability to win a match without Jericho. Owens declared that he did not need Jericho, and the match was scheduled for Roadblock: End of the Line. At the event, Jericho seemingly turned on Owens by attacking him during Owens' title match, which was revealed to be Jericho's plan so that Owens would win and retain the title. The two then challenged Reigns for his United States Championship in the following weeks and Jericho ultimately won the title. Reigns received a rematch for the title, but lost due to interference from Owens. At the Royal Rumble, Reigns again faced Owens for the Universal title, where Jericho was suspended above the ring inside of a shark cage. Despite this, Owens retained due to interference from Braun Strowman. Jericho, who hinted at wanting to face Owens in a title for title match at WrestleMania 33, accepted Goldberg's challenge on Owens' behalf for the Universal title at Fastlane, which was made official to the dismay of Owens. Jericho then held a "Festival of Friendship" for Owens, who turned on Jericho and brutally attacked him. In retaliation, Jericho cost Owens his match and Universal Championship at Fastlane. The following night on Raw, Jericho said that he screwed Owens for betraying him and then demanded an answer as to why Owens betrayed him. Owens said that they were never actually friends and that he only used Jericho who became useless to him after Jericho accepted Goldberg's challenge on his behalf. Jericho then challenged Owens to a match at WrestleMania, which Owens accepted only if it were for the United States Championship, and Jericho agreed. Owens said he would eventually get a rematch for the Universal title, but he first wanted to take the United States title from Jericho as Jericho took his title from him. On the March 20 episode, on Jericho's Highlight Reel, Jericho revealed the "real" Kevin Owens, who attacked Jericho from behind and destroyed "The List of Jericho". The following week, Owens faced Sami Zayn in a no disqualification match where if Zayn lost, he would be fired. During the match, Samoa Joe, who had been feuding with Zayn, attempted to interfere and help Owens win, but Jericho appeared, stopped Joe, and helped Zayn win. Jericho then brought out a new list and added Owens' name to it.

At Elimination Chamber, Nikki Bella and Natalya had a backstage confrontation that lead to Natalya shoving Nikki into Maryse. Later that night, The Miz attempted to eliminate John Cena from the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match only for Miz to get eliminated by Cena. On the February 21 episode of SmackDown Live, Nikki and Natalya's Falls Count Anywhere match led to the backstage area, where Natalya again shoved Nikki into Maryse, who retaliated by attacking Nikki with a lead pipe, thus costing her the match. In that episode's main event, the same incident between Cena and Miz happened in the WWE Championship number one contender's battle royal, but this time, Miz returned and caused Cena's elimination. Cena was then the guest on Miz TV where Miz criticized Cena for being a hypocrite, as Cena was basically doing the same thing that he himself had criticized The Rock for doing: leaving the WWE and going to Hollywood. Miz said that he works as hard as Cena, but does not get the same opportunities, and he eliminated Cena to prevent him from going to WrestleMania 33 and wanted Cena to know what he felt when Cena defeated him for the WWE Championship back in 2011. Miz also said that Cena gets what he wants, but Cena said if that were true, he would be facing The Undertaker. Cena then criticized Miz for copying other people's gimmicks and moves, which caused Maryse to slap Cena for insulting her husband. Nikki then came out and Maryse and Miz retreated. The following week, The Miz and Maryse attacked Cena and Nikki after the latter two's match against James Ellsworth and Carmella. The Miz said he was tired of Cena's lies and said his relationship with Nikki was also a lie. Afterwards on Talking Smack, The Miz and Maryse said that Nikki was in her current position because of her relationship with Cena and that Nikki was jealous of them because Cena would not marry Nikki. The following week, Miz and Maryse continued their insults against Cena and Nikki and the two came out and chased Miz and Maryse out of the ring. SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan then came out and said that since he could not fight The Miz, who had been insulting him for several months, both The Miz and Maryse would face Cena and Nikki at WrestleMania; Maryse's last match was in 2011. The Miz and Maryse then made fun of Cena and Nikki's reality show Total Bellas by impersonating them in "unaired footage". On March 27, Cena was a guest host on NBC's Today and revealed weatherman Al Roker as the guest ring announcer for the match. On the final SmackDown Live before WrestleMania, more "unaired footage" from Total Bellas was shown. The Miz and Maryse then threw more insults at Cena and Nikki, including Cena not wanting to have kids. Cena retaliated and asked how many kids Miz and Maryse had. Cena said that although he takes time off to make movies, he comes back to the WWE when he is done, just as The Miz and other WWE Superstars have done before. Cena called Maryse a waste of a paycheck as she does not do much on the show and that she was only back in the WWE because Miz begged for it. Cena then said that he and Nikki would destroy Miz and Maryse at WrestleMania.

At Roadblock: End of the Line, Charlotte Flair defeated Sasha Banks to win her record fourth Raw Women's Championship, ending their long feud and, as per a post-event stipulation, as long as one of them were champion, the other could not challenge for the title. Charlotte then began a feud with Bayley, which resulted in a championship match at the Royal Rumble, where Charlotte retained. Also during this time, Sasha entered into a feud with Nia Jax, who defeated Sasha on the Royal Rumble pre-show. The next night on Raw, Bayley pinned Charlotte in a six-person mixed tag team match, thus granting her a rematch for the title on the February 13 episode of Raw, where she defeated Charlotte to become the new Raw Women's Champion, thanks to help from Sasha. The following week, Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon confronted Bayley, asking her to relinquish her title due to Sasha's interference, but Bayley refused and Charlotte invoked her championship rematch for Fastlane, which saw Bayley retain after Sasha, who had just defeated Jax, again interfered, which subsequently ended Charlotte's undefeated streak in singles matches at pay-per-view events. The following night on Raw, Sasha said that she and Bayley should face off for the title at WrestleMania 33 as it was a dream of theirs to face each other at the event. Charlotte came out and demanded that she should have a rematch due to Sasha's interference and said that Sasha interfered due to the Roadblock stipulation. Raw General Manager Mick Foley then scheduled Charlotte to face Sasha in which the winner would challenge Bayley for the title at WrestleMania. However, Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMajon changed those plans; she kept Charlotte in the championship match at WrestleMania, but allowed Sasha the opportunity to be added to the match if she could defeat Bayley that night, which she did and made the Raw Women's Championship match a triple threat match at WrestleMania. The following week, Sasha defeated Charlotte's ally Dana Brooke, who Charlotte had ordered to take out Sasha. Charlotte then disassociated herself from Dana, who attacked Charlotte in retaliation. Later, Bayley defeated Jax by disqualification after Jax continued to beat Bayley in the corner beyond the referee's five count. Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon then gave Jax a rematch the following week in a no disqualification match where if Jax won, she would be added to the championship match at WrestleMania. Jax defeated Bayley and turned the Raw Women's Championship match into a fatal four-way. The following week prior to Raw, the match was turned into a fatal four-way elimination match. On Raw, Bayley and Sasha teamed up and defeated Charlotte and Jax, after which, Jax laid out her three WrestleMania opponents.

On the Royal Rumble pre-show, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to win the Raw Tag Team Championship. Cesaro and Sheamus invoked their rematch, but lost due to interference from Enzo Amore and Big Cass. On the February 20 episode of Raw, Enzo and Cass defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to receive a tag title match against Gallows and Anderson at Fastlane, where Gallows and Anderson retained the titles. A rematch occurred the following night on Raw, where Cesaro and Sheamus got involved, costing Enzo and Cass the titles. Later on, Raw General Manager Mick Foley scheduled Cesaro and Sheamus to face Enzo and Cass on the next episode, with the winners going on to challenge Gallows and Anderson for the titles at WrestleMania 33. However, during that match, Gallows and Anderson attacked both teams, causing a double disqualification. Foley then scheduled Gallows and Anderson to defend the tag team titles against both teams at WrestleMania in a triple threat match. The following week, Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon fired Foley and in opposition to his decision due to his relationship with Cesaro and Sheamus, she scheduled them to face Gallows, Anderson, Enzo, and Cass in a two-on-four handicap match with the stipulation being that if Cesaro and Sheamus were to lose, they would be out of the WrestleMania match, but Cesaro and Sheamus retained their spot in the triple threat match. Backstage the following week, Gallows and Anderson attacked Cesaro and Sheamus with a ladder. In the ring, Gallows and Anderson attempted to attack Enzo and Cass, but Cesaro and Sheamus retaliated and attacked them with a ladder. All three teams brawled and Gallows and Anderson were the last standing. The WrestleMania match was then turned into a triple threat ladder match for the Raw Tag Team Championship.

At Elimination Chamber, Naomi defeated Alexa Bliss to win the SmackDown Women's Championship, but due to a legitimate injury, she had to relinquish the title as she was not able to defend it within 30 days. Bliss then demanded that the title be awarded to her since Naomi could not face her for a rematch. SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan instead had Bliss face Becky Lynch for the vacant title, in which Bliss won. The following week, Natalya hinted that she wanted to face Bliss for the title. On the March 7 episode of SmackDown Live, Bliss claimed to be the greatest female wrestler on the SmackDown roster. Lynch then came out and said she would become SmackDown Women's Champion at WrestleMania. Natalya then came out and said she would face Bliss for the title, but Bliss denied her. Bliss' ally Mickie James then said she would be the one to face Bliss for the title at WrestleMania to Bliss' surprise. Bryan then came out and said that Bliss would have the chance to prove her claim of being "the greatest female on the roster" as she would be defending the title against all available female SmackDown wrestlers at WrestleMania, much to the dismay of Bliss. Bliss and James then teamed up and defeated Lynch and Natalya, and James turned on Bliss after the match. The following week, Lynch defeated Natalya, but after the match, both were attacked by Carmella, who claimed that she would be the next SmackDown Women's Champion. Later, James defeated Bliss. On the March 21 episode, Natalya interfered in Lynch and Carmella's match. James then came, out followed by Bliss, and all the women brawled until Bliss was the last standing. On the final SmackDown before WrestleMania, Carmella defeated Lynch after James and Bliss came out. This turned into a tag match where Bliss and Carmella defeated James and Lynch. Naomi then made her return and attacked all women, including Natalya who came out. Naomi then confirmed that she would be in the SmackDown Women's Championship match at WrestleMania, making it a six-pack challenge.

At Elimination Chamber during the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match, as Baron Corbin had a stare down with The Miz, Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose eliminated Corbin with a rollup pin. An enraged Corbin attacked Ambrose and executed the End of Days on him before he left the chamber, which allowed Miz to eliminate Ambrose. On the following SmackDown Live, Ambrose wanted to exact revenge on Corbin, however, he was attacked by Corbin just as Ambrose made his entrance for his match against James Ellsworth. Ambrose and Corbin then participated in the WWE Championship number one contender's battle royal, where Ambrose eliminated Corbin. Corbin again attacked Ambrose with the End of Days and Ambrose was eventually eliminated from the match. Ambrose called out Corbin over the next couple of weeks. Corbin attacked Ambrose backstage and proclaimed his desire to take the Intercontinental Championship from Ambrose. On the March 14 episode, Corbin formally challenged Ambrose for the title at WrestleMania 33. The following week during Corbin's match against Randy Orton, Ambrose caused a distraction and cost Corbin his match, before accepting Corbin's challenge and executed Dirty Deeds on him. The match was moved to the Kickoff pre-show.

At Fastlane, Neville retained the WWE Cruiserweight Championship by defeating Gentleman Jack Gallagher. The following night on Raw, Neville again retained his championship against Rich Swann in Swann's rematch from the Royal Rumble. After the match, Neville said there was no one left in the cruiserweight division that could compete with him. Austin Aries, who had been out of action due to injury, disagreed and attacked Neville, insinuating his desire to challenge Neville for the title. On the March 13 episode of Raw, it was revealed that a fatal five-way elimination match between Aries, T.J. Perkins, Tony Nese, Akira Tozawa, and The Brian Kendrick was scheduled for the following night on 205 Live to determine the number one contender for Neville at WrestleMania 33, which was won by Aries, and the match was scheduled for the Kickoff pre-show. The two traded barbs over the next couple of weeks and on the final 205 Live before WrestleMania, Neville attacked Aries and retreated before Aries could counterattack.

On the March 7 episode of SmackDown Live, Mojo Rawley became the first wrestler to announce his participation in the 4th annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Afterwards on Talking Smack, Apollo Crews announced that he would be in the match. On the March 13 episode of Raw, after plans for a potential match with Shaquille O'Neal fell through, it was revealed that Big Show would be part of the battle royal. The following week, SmackDown's Curt Hawkins confirmed his participation. On the March 27 episode of Raw, Braun Strowman, The Golden Truth (Goldust and R-Truth), The Shining Stars (Epico and Primo), Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, and Jinder Mahal were confirmed for the battle royal. Later in the night, Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens in a no disqualification match to qualify for the battle royal. It was then confirmed that the match was scheduled for the Kickoff pre-show. On the March 28 episode of SmackDown, Heath Slater, Rhyno, American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan), Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango), Dolph Ziggler, and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) were confirmed for the match. On March 30, Mark Henry was confirmed for the battle royal, as well as NXT's Tian Bing, who was WWE's first Chinese recruit. On April 1, NXT's Killian Dain was added to the match.

Pre-show

Three matches were contested on the two-hour long WrestleMania Kickoff pre-show.

In the first match, Neville defended the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Austin Aries. In the climax, as Aries applied the Last Chancery on Neville, Neville poked the eyes of Aries to escape and performed a Red Arrow on Aries to retain the title.

In the second match, the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal took place. Previously unannounced participants included Kalisto, Sin Cara, Luke Harper, Titus O'Neil, The Vaudevillains (Simon Gotch and Aiden English), and The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor), making it a 33-man battle royal. In the climax, Jinder Mahal taunted New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was sitting at ringside. This prompted Gronkowski to enter the ring and shove Mahal. Mojo Rawley then eliminated Mahal to win the match.

Finally, Dean Ambrose defended the Intercontinental Championship against Baron Corbin. The end came when Corbin attempted the End of Days on Ambrose, but Ambrose countered and performed Dirty Deeds on Corbin to retain the title.

Preliminary matches

The event opened with the hosts, The New Day, making their entrance and pumping up the live crowd for the event. The three members were dressed as characters from Final Fantasy XIV, which was a sponsor for the event.

In the first match, AJ Styles faced Shane McMahon. During the match, Styles attempted a springboard 450° splash on Shane, who countered into a triangle choke on Styles, who countered into a one-armed Styles Clash on Shane for a near-fall. After the referee was knocked down, Styles attempted a Coast-to-Coast on Shane, who countered by attacking Styles with a trash can. Shane then performed a Coast-to-Coast into a trash can on Styles for a near-fall. Shane attempted a Leap of Faith through an announce table on Styles, but he avoided the move, causing Shane to fall through the announce table. Styles attempted a Phenomenal Forearm on Shane, but he countered into a float-over DDT on Styles. Shane attempted a shooting star press on Styles, but Styles avoided the move and performed a Phenomenal Forearm on Shane to win the match.

Next, Chris Jericho defended the United States Championship against Kevin Owens. Owens attempted a pop up powerbomb on Jericho, but Jericho countered and performed a Lionsault on Owens for a near-fall. Owens applied the Walls of Jericho on Jericho, but Jericho escaped the hold. Owens performed a pop up powerbomb on Jericho for a near-fall. Owens attempted a second pop up powerbomb on Jericho, but Jericho countered into a Codebreaker on Owens, who touched the ring ropes to void the pinfall at a two count. Owens performed a powerbomb onto the ring apron on Jericho and pinned him to win his first United States Championship.

After that, Bayley defended the Raw Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, and Sasha Banks in a fatal four-way elimination match. Bayley, Charlotte, and Sasha performed a triple powerbomb on Jax and pinned her to eliminate Jax. Sasha applied the Bank Statement on Charlotte, but she escaped the hold, causing Sasha to collide with an exposed turnbuckle, after which Charlotte pinned Sasha to eliminate her. In the end, Charlotte collided with the exposed turnbuckle, allowing Bayley to perform a diving elbow drop on Charlotte to retain the title.

In the fourth match, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were originally scheduled to defend the Raw Tag Team Championship against Cesaro and Sheamus and Enzo Amore and Big Cass in a triple threat ladder match. Before the match, however, hosts The New Day announced that the returning Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy) would also be involved in the match. In the end, Matt performed a Twist of Fate off a ladder on Anderson and Jeff performed a Swanton Bomb off a ladder through a bridged ladder on Cesaro and Sheamus. Matt retrieved the title belts to win the championship for the first time as a team; individually, the first time for Jeff and the second time for Matt.

Later, John Cena and Nikki Bella faced The Miz and Maryse in a mixed tag team match that saw Al Roker serving as the special guest ring announcer. The ending saw Cena and Nikki perform Five Knuckle Shuffles on Miz and Maryse. Cena performed an Attitude Adjustment on Miz whilst Nikki performed a Rack Attack 2.0 on Maryse to win the match. After the match, Cena proposed to Nikki, who accepted.

Seth Rollins then faced Triple H in a non-sanctioned match. During the match, Rollins attempted a Pedigree on Triple H, but Triple H countered into a DDT on an announce table on Rollins. Triple H targeted Rollins' leg, applying an inverted figure-four leglock on Rollins, who rolled out of the ring to escape the hold. Triple H retrieved a sledgehammer, but Rollins performed an enziguiri on Triple H. Rollins then retrieved the sledgehammer, but Stephanie McMahon took the sledgehammer, allowing Triple H to perform a Pedigree on Rollins for a near-fall. Triple H attempted a Pedigree from the top rope on Rollins, but Rollins countered and performed a Phoenix Splash on Triple H for a near-fall. After trading counters, Rollins performed a superkick on Triple H, who collided with Stephanie, causing her to fall through a table. Rollins then performed a Pedigree on the distracted Triple H to win the match.

Next, Bray Wyatt defended the WWE Championship against Randy Orton. At the beginning of the match, Orton attempted an RKO on Wyatt, but Wyatt rolled out of the ring. During the match, Wyatt played mind games on Orton by having large images of different insects appear on the ring canvas. Wyatt performed Sister Abigail into the barricade on Orton. After rolling out of the ring, Orton performed an RKO outside the ring on Wyatt. Wyatt performed Sister Abigail on Orton for a near-fall. Orton performed an RKO on Wyatt to win his ninth WWE Championship and his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

After that, Goldberg defended the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar. Lesnar performed three German suplexes on Golderg, who immediately performed two spears on Lesnar, who rolled out of the ring. Goldberg then performed a spear through the barricade on Lesnar; he rolled Lesnar back in the ring and followed with a Jackhammer for a near-fall. Goldberg attempted a fourth spear, but Lesnar avoided the move and performed seven more German suplexes on Goldberg. Lesnar then performed an F-5 on Goldberg to win his first Universal Championship and giving Goldberg his first clean singles match loss of his career.

In the penultimate match, Alexa Bliss defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Becky Lynch, Naomi, Mickie James, Natalya, and Carmella in a six-pack challenge. The end came when Naomi forced Bliss to submit to the Slay-o-Mission to win her record tying second SmackDown Women's Championship and becoming the first African American to win a championship at WrestleMania.

Main event

In the main event, The Undertaker faced Roman Reigns in what was then announced to be a No Holds Barred match. Jim Ross returned and served as a special guest commentator of the broadcast team with John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Michael Cole.

At the start of the match, Undertaker continuously taunted Reigns by declaring that "this is still my yard". During the match, Undertaker performed a chokeslam onto an announce table on Reigns. Reigns performed a spear through an announce table on Undertaker. Undertaker performed a Last Ride on Reigns for a near-fall. Reigns performed two Superman Punches on Undertaker, but Undertaker performed a chokeslam onto a chair on Reigns for a near-fall. Undertaker performed a Tombstone Piledriver on Reigns for a near-fall. Reigns performed a second spear on Undertaker, but Undertaker applied Hell's Gate on Reigns, who escaped the hold. Reigns attacked Undertaker with a chair and performed a third spear on Undertaker for a near-fall. Reigns performed a fourth spear on Undertaker for a near-fall. Reigns performed another Superman Punch on Undertaker and Undertaker attempted his signature sit-up, but collapsed. Reigns performed a fifth spear on Undertaker to win the match and gave Undertaker his second loss at WrestleMania, making his win/loss record 23-2. Post-match, The Undertaker symbolically left his gloves, coat, and hat in the center of the ring, hinting that this was possibly his last match. At the center of the entrance ramp, Undertaker delivered his signature arm raise taunt as he was lowered below the stage.

Reception

WrestleMania 33 received mixed reviews from critics. Matt Geradi and Kevin Pang of The A.V. Club co-reviewed WrestleMania. Pang criticized the event for being "long and exhausting to watch at home", with "nothing that would win match-of-the-year in a 2017 poll" and "minimum" surprises. Geradi felt that the event exceeded his expectations and "the storytelling was on point all night", but it was a "tremendously front-loaded show". Yet Geradi and Pang agreed that everything "didn't matter" as WrestleMania "was about one story—the end of The Undertaker"; both reviewers agreed that the main event was "sad", with Pang also describing it as "ugly". Although "Shawn Michaels’ sympathy and expressiveness" made Ric Flair's retirement at WrestleMania "moving and memorable", Geradi chided Reigns for having "barely mustered an ounce of anything other than disbelief and exasperation" as it "was business as usual for The Big Dog". For the other matches, Pang wrote that Aries-Neville fulfilled expectations as the "best technical match" with an "especially killer" finish, while Gerardi described Jericho-Owens as "really solidly worked with some clever, unique spots, and the in-ring story with all the counters was great stuff".

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter described WrestleMania 33 as a "a long but extremely newsworthy show" finished off with the "retirement" ceremony for the Undertaker, whose match was "as good as could be expected as they went long". Meltzer described that though the crowd was tired at the finish of the main event, WWE "did clearly turn down the sound" and "then they hit the pyro". For the Universal title match, Meltzer wrote that it "was what was expected" and the "match was pretty much perfect considering how late it was", with the live audience "going nuts through all of this". For Shane-Styles, Meltzer commented that the "match had its moments that were spectacular", and that the "story was that Shane was the real striker and got the better of that". For Ambrose-Corbin, Meltzer felt it was "certainly a lot less than you'd think for a WrestleMania match", while the Raw women's match was "too short for an elimination match", and the Raw tag team title match "wasn't as good as what (sic) most WrestleMania ladder matches but the crowd went completely nuts for the Hardys". Although WWE "may have turned down the crowd noise" for Cena's proposal, Meltzer felt the proposal was "really great". Lastly, Meltzer said that Rawley winning the battle royal was "largely for the mainstream coverage of Rob Gronkowski".

Jack de Menezes of The Independent wrote that WrestleMania 33 was "an emotional night for fans", especially due to the "brutal ending" of the Undertaker's career. With Reigns' "disappointing, error-strewn display ... compared to some of the other eye-catching displays at WrestleMania", de Menezes questioned if the "obvious passing of the torch by the WWE" was "the right decision". For the other memorable moments of the night, de Menezes described the return of The Hardy Boyz as "incredible and triumphant", the Orton-Wyatt match as a "creepy and disturbing affair", Naomi recapturing the SmackDown women's title as "a homecoming to remember", Shane-Styles as a match "filled with highlight moments" and Cena's proposal as "unthinkable".

Luis Paez-Pumar of Rolling Stone described WrestleMania as "two-faced as a Gemini" – the first half "was a brisk hybrid of styles and matches that made you think that WWE knew what it was doing all along with this lackluster build", but once Triple H appeared, the rest of the event "was a slog of plodding wrestling, brief matches and boos". Paez-Pumar described that The Undertaker as "should have retired when the Streak was broken", but "lived on to pass the rub on to Reigns in the sloppiest, saddest manner possible". Paez-Pumar proclaimed that "WWE has no idea how to handle Bray Wyatt", writing that Orton "definitely did not need the title" and ridiculing Wyatt's conjuring of "projected video screen grossness" as "the dumbest crap". Paez-Pumar called for "fresh blood or new ideas" in both women's divisions and for Triple H to retire given that he "has not put on a good Mania match" since 2005 or 2006 once WrestleMania XXX was discounted. For the positives, Goldberg-Lesnar was a "revitalizing adrenaline shot to the spine", Cena's proposal was "magic in a way that no other entertainment can match", The New Day "were excellent hosts; funny when called upon and out of the way when not", while "a stale-ass tag team division just became the most must-see part of Raw" due to the return of the Hardys.

Raw

On the post-WrestleMania 33 Raw the following night, the show opened with "Undertaker" and "Roman sucks" chants from the live audience, which was interrupted by Roman Reigns. After the crowd blasted Reigns with torrid boos and several minutes of hostile chants—"Delete", "Fuck you, Roman", "You suck", "Asshole", "Roman sucks", "Shut the fuck up", and "Go away"—Reigns left after only stating, "This is my yard now!" A lot of the crowd hostility arises from the speculation that WrestleMania 33 may have been The Undertaker's last match, as well as the long running fan opposition to Reigns. After that segment, WWE commentators labelled the post-WrestleMania 33 crowd as "non-traditional WWE fans" who may cheer for those they normally boo and boo those they normally cheer "all in the name of fun". This echoed similar comments a year prior for the post-WrestleMania 32 crowd, which The A.V. Club described as WWE's "aggressive" and condescending "disclaimers" meant to shame the hardcore audience.

Later on the show, new Universal Champion Brock Lesnar came out with Paul Heyman. Heyman declared that Goldberg would not be seen again and then turned their attention to Roman Reigns and teased a match between the two, since Lesnar was the only other person to defeat Undertaker at WrestleMania. Braun Strowman came out instead and declared that after he himself was done with Reigns, who he had been feuding with prior to WrestleMania, he would be coming for Lesnar and the Universal Championship. After the show, Goldberg appeared on Raw Talk and addressed the live crowd, stating that his match with Lesnar may have been his last, but hinted that he could return.

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson had a rematch for the Raw Tag Team Championship where The Hardy Boyz retained. Later, Cesaro and Sheamus defeated Enzo Amore and Big Cass to become the number one contender's for the tag team titles. Also in the tag team division, since they did not have a match at WrestleMania due to their role as the event's hosts, The New Day issued an open challenge. NXT's The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) made their main roster debut by answering the challenge and defeated The New Day.

It was later announced that Chris Jericho would have his rematch against Kevin Owens for the United States Championship at Payback. In the main event of Raw, Jericho was originally scheduled to team with Seth Rollins to face Owens and Samoa Joe. However, Jericho was attacked backstage by Owens and Joe, rendering Jericho unable to compete. Rollins' tag team partner was replaced with the returning Finn Bálor (in his first televised match since SummerSlam in August 2016) and the two defeated Owens and Joe.

In the women's division, Raw Women's Champion Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Dana Brooke teamed up and defeated Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, and the returning Emma. In the cruiserweight division on the post-WrestleMania 205 Live, NXT's Oney Lorcan made his main roster debut, but was defeated by Rich Swann.

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon made an appearance declaring that his daughter Stephanie McMahon would be off television for a while due to her crashing through a table during the Seth Rollins/Triple H match at WrestleMania. He then announced that since Mick Foley was fired as Raw General Manager, 2017 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Angle would be the new Raw General Manager. He also announced that there would be a draft the following week between Raw and SmackDown, in what has been labeled a "Superstar Shakeup".

SmackDown

On SmackDown Live after WrestleMania, newly crowned WWE Champion Randy Orton was challenged to a "House of Horrors" match by Bray Wyatt, which was accepted by Orton. Afterwards, Orton and Wyatt brawled. The returning Erick Rowan joined and helped Wyatt. Luke Harper then came out and helped Orton. In the main event, Orton and Harper teamed up and defeated Wyatt and Rowan in a tag team match.

The Miz and Maryse responded to John Cena's proposal to Nikki Bella and stated that it was because of them that Cena proposed. Later, The Miz and Maryse came out to the ring to Cena's music and the two were dressed as Cena and Nikki. Mocking the fact that Cena and Nikki were taking time off post-WrestleMania, Miz and Maryse, as Cena and Nikki, stated they were leaving the WWE to go to Hollywood. As they were leaving the ring, they were interrupted by the main roster debut of NXT's Shinsuke Nakamura.

In the women's division, Alexa Bliss invoked her championship rematch for the SmackDown Women's Championship, but Naomi retained.

In a non-title rematch, Baron Corbin defeated Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose in a Street Fight. Also in the mid-card, Curt Hawkins issued an open challenge that was answered by the main roster debut of NXT's Tye Dillinger, who defeated Hawkins. On April 5, Simon Gotch of The Vaudevillains was released from WWE.

SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon made an appearance to address the "Superstar Shakeup". He was interrupted by AJ Styles, who said that he wanted to stay on SmackDown. Styles then shook Shane's hand out of respect for their WrestleMania match.