Russo is joined on today’s show by Big Vito.

Russo opens today’s show by pointing out that the length of WrestleMania really hurt the show as it reached its conclusion. He thought the energy reached a high point after the Ronda Rousey match and as Daniel Bryan made his return to the ring. He doesn’t care how good a show is; if it’s seven hours long it’s going to struggle to hold the fans’ attention.

Vito begins by talking about the Universal Title match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. He thinks this match went south in a hurry, and when Reigns started kicking out of Lesnar’s finishes, Vito thinks Lesnar became frustrated and busted Reigns open the hard way on purpose.

Russo doesn’t think a situation like that would happen. He points out that Reigns is a tough guy and he’d never lie down for the 3-count for Lesnar if Lesnar legitimately went into business for himself like that.

He adds that this match consisted of two big guys working very physically, and he doesn’t think the human body is meant to take some of the punishment that was handed out in this match. He points out that Lesnar could have broken Reigns’ neck with one specific suplex on the outside, but luckily Reigns tucked his head at the last minute. Vito adds that people aren’t being trained to work the way they were years ago, and this leads to some dangerous spots during matches.

Vito thought WWE made a mockery of the business by bringing Nicholas into the RAW Tag Team match and having him win a Title. He thought WWE disrespected all the guys in the back with that move. Russo wonders why WWE would waste that spot with a decision like that, pointing out that this was WrestleMania and they could have done a number of interesting things with that spot. He actually thought they were going to bring Hulk Hogan back in that spot.

Russo thought Nakamura’s entrance was awesome, but the WWE Title match between Nakamura and Styles wasn’t the 5-star match everyone was hoping for. Vito liked Nakamura’s heel turn after the match because he believes Nakamura’s been a disappointment since being brought up from NXT. Both Russo and Vito agree that this match was the biggest disappointment on the show, but Russo points out that the crowd was dead by the time this match unfolded.

The crowd was also dead for The RAW Women’s Title match between Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss. Vito thought this should have been a 7-second squash match because he doesn’t think Jax has the offensive arsenal to work a long, competitive match. Russo compares booking Jax to how he booked Awesome Kong in TNA where he showcased her in short, physical matches.

Vito thought Daniel Bryan looked out of practice in his return to the ring, but still looked good. Russo didn’t mind Bryan getting protected early in the match by having him attended to by paramedics, but he didn’t like that Bryan took another apron powerbomb in order to accomplish this. He points out that this is a dangerous spot for someone with a history of neck/brain issues.

Russo doesn’t understand why Elias didn’t tag with Strowman last night. He thought both talents were wasted on the show, and since these two guys were in a program with each other several weeks ago, WWE could have easily tied them together creatively for this match.

Vito thought Undertaker coming back was a success and his entrance was probably the happiest part of the show for most fans. Russo says this match told him something about Cena. Cena went to work and did good business last night, and that’s why he’s a pro.

Vito commends all 4 performers in the Mixed Tag match. He thought it was a fantastic match and he was impressed by Rousey’s in-ring work. He does warn that when you start at the top like Rousey has there’s only one way to go, so she needs to be cautious moving forward. Russo thought all 4 performers and WWE as a whole did an excellent job here. He thought the match was much better than he anticipated, and it was probably better than WWE anticipated as well. However, he adds that if Rousey would have tapped out Triple H the roof would have blown off of the building.

Vito thought the right guy won in the United States Title match. Jinder Mahal’s victory opens a lot of options creatively moving forward and he liked this finish. However, he thinks somebody should be arrested for misuse of talent in regards to how Rusev’s been booked lately. Russo says WWE should never have taken the WWE Title off of Mahal because the Styles/Nakamura match didn’t need the Title at all.

Vito thought Charlotte/Asuka probably had match of the night, and Charlotte winning was the right finish in his mind. Russo was surprised by this finish, but he was happy that this victory certified Charlotte as a top star. She looks, acts and carries herself like a star and she deserves to be positioned as such.

In regards to the Intercontinental Championship match, Seth Rollins had the worst outfit of the night in Russo’s opinion, and he’s surprised we didn’t see “Demon” Finn Balor return. The Demon was a huge money-maker and he can’t believe WWE didn’t revisit that here. He would have even put the Title on Demon Balor if he would have returned last night. Vito was disappointed in this match because he thought Miz should have won.

Vito thought WrestleMania 34 was a good show overall, and Russo agrees.

That sums up today’s episode of Vince Russo’s The Brand. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya tomorrow for another recap!