NEIU’s P.E. Complex hosted a WrestleMania watch party on Night 1 of the annual two-night event on April 19, 2025. The watch party was facilitated by Nallely Herrera, graduate student in exercise science at NEIU and graduate assistant at NEIU Campus Rec, and by Derek Ansong, NEIU Campus Rec manager and basketball coach.
The attendees cheered and booed along with the monitor as the action on the screen had everyone too invested to not react.
The community was there to cheer Chicago’s very own “The Best in the World” CM Punk as he had WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman in his corner for the first WrestleMania main event of his storied career against two former Shield members Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match.
Pizza and drinks were provided to anyone who attended so they could comfortably enjoy the drama show unfolding before their eyes.
The night started with a shocker as Jey Uso defeated Gunther via submission to win the World Heavyweight Championship after landing two consecutive frog splashes and a sleeper hold.
Rey Fenix and El Grande Americano also faced off in a match on Night 1. Rey Fenix was a last-minute replacement for Rey Mysterio, who was injured the night before.
The match ended with El Grande Americano placing a metal plate under his mask, which he then used to headbutt Rey Phoenix, resulting in a pinfall win for Americano, much to the displeasure of the crowd.
Americano once again avoids having his identity exposed by winning the match in an underhanded but very effective manner.
The cheers for Tiffany Stratton were loud as she delivered a moonsault off the top rope and retained the WWE Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair via pinfall.
The second shocker came at the end of the night as Heyman turned on Punk and Reigns and aligned with Rollins, aiding in his victory by providing a steel chair. This was not something the attendees expected as the shocking twist had them invested and glued to their seats.
After the event, attendees stayed for a while to continue talking about what unfolded and to take pictures to remember the night. This along with the Champions League watch party on March 12 have proven to be able to attract sports fans. All WWE events can be found live on Peacock, and all future NEIU Campus Rec events can be found on the Campus Rec instagram page @neiucampusrec.
