Wrestlemania XXXIX Night Two
Date: April 2, 2023
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
Attendance: 67,553
America The Beautiful: Jimmie Allen

After a rather long intermission, we’re ready to wrap up the show and this night has a lot to live up to. The first night was outstanding and now we have the real main event, as Roman Reigns defends the WWE Universal Title against Cody Rhodes. In addition, Gunther defends the Intercontinental Title against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre and we have a Cell match as a bonus. Let’s get to it.

Jimmie Allen sings America The Beautiful.

Kevin Hart gives us the cold open again, this time talking about how the sequel has to be bigger and better. Points for not just redoing the same video from the night before and keeping up with the theme.

Miz and Snoop Dogg welcome us to the show with a quick recap and preview. Snoop is ready to get us going.

Brock Lesnar vs. Omos

The story here is that Lesnar can’t overpower Omos (with MVP). Seriously that’s about it. Lesnar can’t double leg him to start and gets tossed around. Running shoulders don’t do much for Lesnar so Omos hits a headbutt and grabs a slam. Omos throws him around again and hits some forearms to the back. We hit the bearhug, followed by another slam, and another bearhug to keep Lesnar in trouble. Lesnar fights out and is quickly chokeslammed for a near fall. Back up and Lesnar rolls some German suplexes but his back gives out on the F5 attempt. Then Lesnar hits the F5 for the pin at 4:56.

Rating: C-. Well they definitely did the right thing in keeping this short, as the whole thing was about Lesnar doing his power moves but not doing them all that well because Omos is that big. It’s a very basic story and while Omos got in some impressive stuff, it felt more like a way to get Lesnar on the show more than anything else (which granted that’s more or less what it was). Not a great match but the fans liked the big throws so points for that.

Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya/Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville vs. Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler

It’s the women’s match of the showcase tag match from last night. Baszler and Rousey (the bullies) didn’t have to qualify here and were just thrown into the match. Morgan Backstabbers Sonya to start and a one kneed Codebreaker makes it even worse. Natalya comes in for the sling shot belly to back drop. The basement dropkick puts Morgan down again but she hurricanranas her way to freedom.

Rodriguez comes in and gets to throw Natalya around, leaving Natalya to hand it off to Green. A missile dropkick has no effect so Sonya comes back in, allowing Green to grab some hair. Shotzi comes in so Baszler throws her outside, where Rousey is waiting on her. That leaves Baszler to get caught in a triplebomb, meaning Rousey has to get on the apron…but the three on one is broken up by Green and Sonya.

Shotzi dives onto people in the ring and on the floor, but Green stops to tell us to get our cameras ready. Rather than face Rodriguez, Green dives onto a bunch of people at ringside. With no one else left inside, Rodriguez powerbombs Morgan onto the pile for the big crash. Back in and Rodriguez fall away slams Shotzi, setting up the corkscrew Vader Bomb. Sonya comes in for the save though and some double teaming puts Rodriguez on the floor.

Green and Sonya celebrate until Natalya and Shotzi are back in for an assisted double Sliced Bread. A Hart Attack gets two on Sonya with Green making the save. There’s the double Sharpshooter to Sonya and Green until Morgan dives off the top for the save. Morgan takes Shotzi down but Rousey and Baszler (now with one boot and limping) come back in to break it up. Rousey armbars Shotzi for the win at 8:22.

Rating: C+. I don’t know if Baszler’s injury put she and Rousey on the floor for so long but they were almost not around whatsoever for a good chunk of the match. The match was pretty similar to its male counterpart but two of these teams felt thrown together and it hurt a lot. Rousey and Baszler winning should set them up as the monsters of the division and they would win the Tag Team Titles in about a month and a half…after Rodriguez and Morgan won them first. As usual, those things are a mess.

We look at Bobby Lashley winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on Smackdown.

Lashley comes out and shows off the trophy.

Xavier Woods and UpUpDownDown preview the Intercontinental Title match.

We recap Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther for the latter’s Intercontinental Title. Gunther is a monster champion and his fellow Europeans want to hit him really hard and win the title. Sheamus and McIntyre are friends but both want the title, meaning they’re willing to fight each other. This falls into the “do we need to draw you a picture here” category. It also falls into the “we saw this video (or something really similar to it) last night” category.

Intercontinental Title: Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending and Titus O’Neil is on commentary. Sheamus and McIntyre waste no time in knocking the champ to the floor before starting to lay into each other. Sheamus hits a clothesline and takes McIntyre into the corner for some uppercuts. McIntyre is sent to the apron for the forearms but Gunther is back up with chops for both of them. Gunther sends McIntyre into the post for a crash out to the floor, followed by a big boot to Sheamus’ face.

The Boston crab has Sheamus in more trouble until McIntyre comes in to break it up. McIntyre and Gunther chop it out (and they’re loud chops too) but Sheamus is back in with the uppercuts all around. With Gunther getting back up, Sheamus ties him in the ropes for the forearms to the chest, mixed in with chops from McIntyre. That leaves Gunther down so Sheamus ties McIntyre up in the ropes for almost thirty forearms to the chest.

Gunther is back in to break up the Celtic Cross though and a German suplex drops Sheamus again. The big clothesline gives Gunther two but McIntyre is back up to suplex Sheamus into Sheamus in the corner. There’s a Futureshock to Gunther but the Claymore misses. Gunther powerbombs McIntyre down and goes up but Sheamus is right there with a super White Noise. The Celtic Cross sets up the Cloverleaf so Gunther makes the rope, which means nothing because it’s No DQ.

Sheamus lets go and puts the hold back on anyway, only to have McIntyre come in for the break. That doesn’t go well either as Sheamus knees both of them down but McIntyre cuts off the Brogue Kick. McIntyre headbutts him out to the floor and busts out the big flip dive, leaving everyone down on the floor. Cole to O’Neil: “You never did that!” O’Neil: “AND I NEVER WILL!”

Back in and Sheamus Brogue Kicks McIntyre for two, followed by the Claymore to give McIntyre two of his own. Sheamus drops McIntyre again and covers but Gunther dives in with a top rope splash. Gunther’s powerbomb to Sheamus onto McIntyre leaves them both down, followed by another powerbomb to pin McIntyre and retain at 16:35.

Rating: A. It’s rare that I’ll watch a match back on its own but I’ve seen this one more than a few times now as it’s that kind of brutal. These guys beat the fire out of each other and that is exactly how it was advertised. They didn’t stop and for once it felt like three people having a match. There were stretches where it was two in and one out, but it was a brutal and hard hitting enough match to make up for it. Excellent stuff here, as you probably should have expected.

WWE did charity work this week.

We recap Asuka vs. Bianca Belair for the latter’s Raw Women’s Title. Belair won the title last year at Wrestlemania and has become a huge star during her reign. Then Asuka showed up as an evil clown and Belair is all scared, at least somewhat due to Asuka spraying her with the mist over and over. It’s a simple story but it didn’t exactly work and this never felt like a big feud.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka

Asuka is challenging and comes out with a team of masked Asukas, while Belair counters with an all girl kids dance troupe. Eh point to the champ. Belair kicks her down at the bell and hits a dropkick into the corner, setting up the right hands. That’s broken up and Asuka kicks her down, setting up the big missed kick to the head. Asuka puts her on top but Belair flips over her and hits a spinebuster for a fast two.

Something close to a triangle choke has Belair in trouble before Asuka switches to the Asuka Lock. It’s not on quite full though and Belair rolls outside, where she PLANTS Asuka with a sitout powerbomb. Back in and Belair misses a charge into the post, allowing Asuka to pull her into a heel hook. Belair powers out but Asuka grabs an ankle lock, which is rolled away for the break. Asuka is right back up with a missile dropkick for two and things slow down a bit.

They go to the apron where Asuka hits a hard dropkick into the post. Belair sends her into the post to even things up a bit, setting up a deadlift superplex to bring them back inside. Asuka’s kick to the face gets two but a Codebreaker is blocked. A running Blockbuster into a handspring moonsault gives Belair two and frustration is setting in. They go to the corner with Asuka slipping out of a fireman’s carry and hitting a Codebreaker for two of her own. Back up and the mist misses but Asuka slips out of the KOD. The cross armbreaker doesn’t quite work for Asuka though and Belair powers up for the

Rating: B-. This was good but it never hit that next level, save for maybe the final sequence. The story just wasn’t that compelling coming in and it didn’t really feel like a major showdown. Belair retaining the title over a top level challenge is good though as beating Asuka is still an impressive feat.

We look at Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens beating the Usos for the Tag Team Titles in Night One’s main event.

Here are Miz and Snoop Dogg to announce tonight’s attendance of 81,395, giving us a two day total of 161,892. That’s great, but Miz isn’t happy with Snoop for putting him into an impromptu match last night. Dogg: “So you want to do it again?” Of course not, because Miz doesn’t like being humiliated in his town. Snoop says this is the people’s city and introduces….Shane McMahon, because SHANE MUST BE A THING. Shane thanks the fans and sounds like he can barely breathe after his entrance. Time for a match

Shane McMahon vs. Miz

Shane punches him in the corner and yeah they’re as bad as before. Then he drops down, leapfrogs over Miz and….tears his quad on the landing less than thirty seconds in. That brings Snoop in to hit Miz in the face and apparently we have a replacement. Snoop knocks him down again and drops a People’s Elbow for the pin at 2:11. This seems to have been completely impromptu with either the referee telling Snoop to get in there or Snoop coming up with the idea on his own. Either way, major points to Snoop who had no idea what he was doing and gave the fans a very fun moment out of nowhere.

We recap Edge vs. the Demon Finn Balor inside the Cell. Balor threw Edge out of the Judgment Day the night he joined, setting off a feud between the two of them. This led to Judgment Day attacking both Edge and his wife Beth Phoenix, meaning it’s time for the big, violent fight.

The Cell is lowered and we get a voiceover (from Russell Crowe of all people, as part of a movie tie-in) talking about how evil it is as well.

Edge vs. Finn Balor

Inside the Cell and this is Brood Edge (and yes, his Titantron literally says BROOD EDGE), who comes out of the Brood ring of fire with a shiny mask that makes him look like the Terminator while wearing wings, against the Demon. They waste no time in getting the weapons, with Edge grabbing a red chair and Balor grabbing a purple kendo stick (because not only do you need weapons in the Cell, but you need COLOR COORDINATED weapons).

Balor gets the better of things and knocks him to the floor, only to get hammered back inside. Edge knocks him off the apron and grabs a bunch of kendo sticks (two purple, one red), some of which he uses to pin Balor into the corner of the Cell. A dropkick off the apron hits Balor to make it worse, meaning it’s time to set up the table. Balor uses the delay to get out and sends Edge hard into the steps. They get back inside where Edge hits a quick Impaler but the spear is countered with a Sling Blade.

They go outside with Balor being dropkicked through a table, only to come back in with an Unprettier. The Edge-O-Matic gets two more and it’s time to grab a ladder. Edge throws said ladder at Balor’s face and Balor is busted open BAD, meaning we pause for the medic to come inside to check on him (this led to a hilarious reaction from Mick Foley, because apparently YOU CAN PAUSE A CELL MATCH DUE TO AN INJURY).

Edge uses the delay to get a bunch of weapons ready but Balor is back up with 1916. The spear only hits ladder and Balor hits another Slind Blade. Coup de Grace connects for two and Balor climbs the ladder, only to get countered into a super Edgecution for a slightly delayed two.

That takes too long again and Balor is back up with his own weapons shots, including a bunch of chair shots to Edge. Balor climbs up but instead climbs the cage and gets onto the camera platform. This adds a full nine inched above the top rope but the Coup De Grace only hits table. Edge’s spear gets two so he unloads with chair shots to the back. The Conchairto finishes Balor at 18:10.

Rating: B-. This was the modern Cell match and that is not a good thing for the most part. The bell rang and they went straight for the weapons, which didn’t exactly make the Cell itself feel important. It was a violent and hard hitting match but other than one or two spots, I’m not sure how much the Cell was needed. Either use the Cell or don’t, because this was a street fight with the cage blocking the camera view.

We look at the Wrestlemania trailers.

Backlash is coming to Puerto Rico. You should too!

We look at the Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.

Here is the class in the stadium:

Stacy Keibler (who has not aged a day)
Andy Kaufman (represented by his family)
Great Muta (that’s a nice addition)
Tim White (Warrior Award, and his brother looks identical to him)
Rey Mysterio (that’s about as perfect of a choice for an active headliner as you could pick)

Mysterio shakes the other inductees’ hands (bowing to Muta).

We look at Set Rollins’ entrance from last night. Feel free to get on with the show at any time.

We recap Roman Reigns defending the WWE Universal Title against Cody Rhodes. The big idea here is Rhodes wants to finish his story, meaning winning the title in his dad’s honor while also completing his long rise to the top of WWE. Reigns has been champion for two and a half years and isn’t going away that fast, so it’s time for the big showdown. It feels like a main event and Cody is almost the last man standing to fight Reigns.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns is defending and has Paul Heyman/Solo Sikoa with him. Rhodes gets his big entrance and goes over to say hi to his family, including giving his weightlifting belt to an unmasked Negative One (the son of the late Brody Lee, who makes occasional AEW appearances). Reigns gets a special entrance of his own, with a team of pianists playing the start of his entrance live. We get an ACKNOWLEDGE ME from Reigns before the bell finally rings.

Rhodes hammerlocks him over to the ropes to start and Reigns isn’t impressed. A headlock takeover and a right hand has Reigns a bit more annoyed so he bails out to the floor. Heyman’s advice is that Reigns isn’t here for Rhodes because Rhodes is here for him. Heyman: “NOW SMASH HIM!” Back in and Reigns elbows him in the face, meaning it’s time to raise up a finger. Rhodes manages a dropkick (Reigns is stunned again) for two, with commentary saying that cover wasn’t about getting a pin but rather sending a message to Reigns. What that message is isn’t clear but I’d guess “Eat At Joe’s”.

The Disaster Kick is pulled out of the air though and Reigns hits a powerbomb for two. Some suplexes have Rhodes in more trouble but he’s back up to send Reigns out to the floor. That goes badly for him as well as Reigns drops him face first onto the apron. A hard slam puts Rhodes down onto the ramp but Rhodes gets in one of his own. Rhodes sends him back inside but Sikoa gets in a chair shot to the ribs, allowing Reigns to come back with the apron boot.

The cravate slows Rhodes down back inside until he fights up, only to have Sikoa interfere again. This time it lets Reigns hit a hard clothesline before whipping Rhodes into the corner to stay on his bad ribs. They go back outside with Reigns loading up the announcers’ table but getting backdropped through the other one for the big hope spot. Back in and Rhodes hits the drop down uppercut into the snap powerslam.

There’s the Cody Cutter for a big near fall so Reigns rolls outside, meaning it’s a suicide dive to hit him again. They try to get back in but Sikoa gets in a weightlifting belt shot….which the referee hears for an ejection. The distraction lets Rhodes hit Cross Rhodes for two (with Heyman looking on in fear for a nice visual). Reigns is back with some shots to the head and a release Rock Bottom gets two.

The Superman Punch is countered into a Pedigree (Heyman even reaches through the ropes this time) for two and it’s time to start the comeback. Said comeback is cut off with a Superman Punch to knock Rhodes out of the air for two more. The spear is countered into a sunset flip for two and Rhodes whips out a Figure Four for a change of pace. Reigns turns it over (while slapping the mat on the way there), with Rhodes getting over to the ropes for the break.

A big spear connects for two and now Reigns is stunned for a change. With nothing else working, Reigns hits him in the face over and over before grabbing the guillotine choke. Rhodes can’t spinebuster his way to freedom but he can slip his head out and hammer away at Reigns for a change. The referee gets bumped though and a double knockdown gives us quite the breather. Cody is back up for the Cross Rhodes but the Usos run in to break it up. The 1D drops Rhodes but here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to take out the Usos.

A Stunner into the Helluva Kick leave Reigns down and the other four brawl out into the crowd. Rhodes gets the big dramatic near fall (and thank goodness that wasn’t the pin as Rhodes winning thanks to Owens and Zayn wouldn’t have worked) and they’re both down again. Back up and the slug it out with both of them being staggered off the shots. The Superman Punch is countered with the Flip Flop And Fly into the Bionic Elbow. Rhodes hits back to back Cross Rhodes….but Sikoa comes in with the Samoan Spike. The spear retains the title at 34:36.

Rating: B+. A year removed from this and my goodness I’m still amazed at the guts it took to not pull the trigger here. This was Cody’s chance to win the whole thing and they kept it on Reigns, which is quite the way to go. They beat the fire out of each other and it had the big match feel, but not pulling the trigger here still feels way off. Heck of a main event, but man they had the fans ready for the moment and just didn’t do it.

Replays and a highlight package wrap us up.

Overall Rating: B. There were some weak parts here and there but the good stuff is more than enough to carry this. Much like Night One, you can’t fault the atmosphere and the look/feel of the show, which made for a heck of a showcase for everyone involved. The main event was very good (ending aside perhaps) and the Intercontinental Title match was great, mixed in with some other strong stuff along the way. I liked this one a lot and the slightly shorter running time helped, but it’s just a few ticks below Night One’s instant classic status.

Overall Overall Rating: A-. Wrestlemania has a complicated history but this was going along with the big, epic show feel and it worked to near perfection. It’s one of the best Wrestlemanias ever and what matters is the show feeling as big as possible. Granted it helped that there was some great action, though that ending is one of those things that is going to stick in a lot of fans’ memories for a very long time. I loved the show overall, and my goodness WWE knows how to make these things work so well.

Ratings Comparison

Brock Lesnar vs. Omos

Original: C+
Redo: C-

Women’s Tag Team Showcase

Original: C
Redo: C+

Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Gunther

Original: A-
Redo: A

Asuka vs. Bianca Belair

Original: B
Redo: B-

Shane McMahon vs. Miz

Original: N/A
Redo: N/A

Edge vs. Finn Balor

Original: B
Redo: B-

Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes

Original: B+
Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+
Redo: B

Overall Overall Rating:

Original: A
Redo: A-

At least most of them are in in the ballpark. Either way, excellent show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Wrestlemania XXXIX Night One
Date: April 1, 2023
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 67,303
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
America The Beautiful: Becky G

I’ve been curious to get back to this show as it was rather well received last year, leading me to wonder just how well it holds up. The main event of the first night is the Usos defending the Tag Team Titles against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, which is still hard to believe in multiple ways. Other than that, we have Rhea Ripley challenging Charlotte for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Let’s get to it.

The set is a classic one, looking like the stage at the Academy Awards.

Becky G sings America The Beautiful.

The opening video features Kevin Hart, who threatens the voiceover guy with a big boot and legdrop. Hart is here to tell us a story about something that happened once upon a time in Hollywood. This sends us to a Wrestlemania greatest hits package before we look at the Wrestlemania trailers, which really weren’t close to the level of the originals in 2005. Hart asks the pyro budget to wrap it up.

Here are the hosts (in the ring rather than doing a full entrance in a smart time saver), the Miz and Snoop Dogg, to get things going. Miz talks about how they have a lot in common: they’re both musicians (Miz was in Wrestlemania: The Musical) and they’re both in a bunch of movies, plus Snoop is a WWE Golden Champ. Snoop: “So we’re the same?” Snoop says it’s more about the champions in the audience tonight, sending Miz into a preview of the card. We’re ready to fire it up so let’s get going.

US Title: Austin Theory vs. John Cena

Theory, defending, has one of my favorite entrance styles as the camera is shooting from the entrance, allowing you to look at the sea of humanity in front of him. It’s been awesome for years and it still is here. Cena on the other hand gets a video of his Make-A-Wish work (which is as cool as it gets) and has a bunch of Make-A-Wish kids with him for the big feel good moment. The entrance is rather strong, though maybe not as strong as that bald spot Cena is sporting.

Feeling out process to start with Theory grabbing a headlock and getting powered off without much effort. Cena goes after the arm and takes Theory down with a headlock takeover as the fans aren’t sure about this one. Back up and Cena powers him into the corner so Theory gets creative with a bite of the ear of all things. As I try to figure out if Theory was alive for Tyson vs. Holyfield II, Theory jumps Cena from behind and hits a suplex for two.

Theory takes a bit too long to follow up though and Cena snaps off a suplex of his own. The rolling Blockbuster cuts Cena right back down for two and we hit the posing for a bit. Theory’s rolling dropkick gets the same as the fans aren’t quite into these covers yet. More posing sets up Theory knocking him down again but a big stomp is blocked. The AA is countered into a DDT to give Theory two more and the frustration is on again.

Theory misses a charge into the corner and they slug it out until Theory grabs a sleeper. That’s broken up with a ram into the buckle and Cena initiates the finishing sequence. The AA is blocked again with a grab of the ropes and the referee gets bumped. Cena grabs the STF for the tap, which the referee doesn’t see. Theory gets in a low blow and A Town Down retains the title at 11:21.

Rating: C. It takes some guts to have Cena come out with the Make-A-Wish kids and then have him lose. As for the rest of the match, it was rather basic and felt like Cena was just playing the greatest hits. I get that Cena wasn’t able to be his old self, but it was getting close to “shell of his former self” territory. It was an attempt to give Theory a rub, but that didn’t quite click here as it felt like Theory was beating someone out there for one more match rather than a returning star.

Street Profits vs. Ricochet/Braun Strowman vs. Alpha Academy vs. Viking Raiders

This is dubbed a Showcase Match, which is pretty much flat out saying “they’re here to be on the card”. I kind of like the honesty there. Titus O’Neil is on commentary for no adequately explored reason. The Raiders have Valhalla (or Sarah Logan according to Titus) in their corner. Ricochet and Gable start things off and thank goodness they aren’t having four in the ring at once.

Ricochet’s hurricanrana attempt is countered into a quickly broken ankle lock so Ricochet sweeps the legs, only to get pulled into a backslide for one. Gable gets sent into the corner for the tag from Otis, who runs Ricochet over without much effort (Titus: “Big sweaty Otis!”). It’s right back to Gable, who mocks Strowman, allowing Ricochet to jump over Gable and make the tag.

All eight get in (you knew it was coming) and the big brawl is on. The Vikings clear the ring and the springboard clothesline/German suplex combination drops Ricochet. Ragnarok hits Ford but let’s stop to pose instead of covering. Strowman is back up to run both of them over, only to have Gable come back in for the rolling Chaos Theory. Gable goes up for a Swan Dive but Dawkins tags himself in, only to miss a dive. Ivar comes in and misses the moonsault as Dawkins moves (not that it would have connected anyway).

That leaves Strowman to hit a top rope splash for two on Strowman, with almost everyone else making the save. Otis World’s Strongest Slams Strowman but Ford is back in to clean some house. A bunch of people go to the corner and that is indeed a Tower Of Doom, with Ricochet diving onto them for the real crash. Strowman is up for the Strowman Express until Dawkins BLASTS HIM with a shoulder to pop the heck out of Titus. Ricochet is up with a springboard shooting star onto Dawkins but the shooting star press inside hits raised knees. Ford’s frog splash to Ricochet’s back (onto Dawkins’ knees) is enough for the pin at 8:29.

Rating: B. The term showcase makes sense here as that is what it felt like we saw. This was eight people getting the chance to have fun and it felt like something you would have seen on an independent show. That block on Strowman and Ricochet’s shooting star were both great, though the Profits were the most established team coming into this and giving them the win makes sense. I’m not usually wild on the people being stacked onto the card, but I’ll take it over a battle royal.

Video on Brock Lesnar vs. Omos, which takes place tomorrow.

We recap Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul. Rollins is a star and Paul eliminated him from the Royal Rumble. To make it worse, Paul has knocked cost Rollins the US Title and knocked him out with his loaded right hand, leaving Rollins a little worried.

The UpUpDownDown crew simulates Rollins vs. Paul in WWE2K23, with Rollins having a 58% chance to win.

Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul

Paul ziplines in, which is cool enough, but it doesn’t have much in the way of lasting power. Rollins has quite the entrance, as a conductor leads the crowd to sing his song. There is also a walking bottle of Prime, which can’t end well. Rollins grabs a headlock to start and talks to Paul a bit before being shoved away. They pick the pace up a bit with Rollins hitting a running shoulder but it’s way too early for the Stomp.

Back up and Paul throws him over the top (just like he did at the Royal Rumble, hence Paul saying “that’s twice”). Rollins isn’t happy with that and comes back in to hammer away until Paul snaps his throat across the top. Back in and Paul starts slugging away before avoiding a charge in the corner. A springboard crossbody into a standing moonsault gives Paul two and we hit something like a seated octopus. They strike it out while laying on the mat until Paul busts out a nice gutwrench suplex.

Commentary isn’t sure if they should be shocked that Paul is this good as he jumps from the mat to the top for a moonsault (geez) which only hits mat. The fans greatly approve of something (seemingly in the crowd) as Rollins makes the comeback and sends him over the top to even the score a bit. Three straight suicide dives connect for Rollins so Paul crawls away, only for Rollins to Stomp his hand on the steps.

Back in and the Pedigree is countered into an exchange of rollups for two each. Paul pops up and hits the big right hand but the pain means it’s a VERY delayed near fall. Rollins is back up with a sitout powerbomb for two and the Stomp is loaded up….but the bottle of Prime makes the save. It’s KSI (Paul’s business partner), whose distraction lets Paul post Rollins for the big knockdown. The announcers’ table is cleared off but KSI spends too much time filming, allowing Rollins to pull him in the way of Paul’s splash off the post through the table.

Back in and the Pedigree gets two in a heck of a kickout, leaving them both down. The frustrated Rollins hits an elbow to the back of the head but the Stomp is pulled out of the air. Paul busts out a GTS of all things before dropping a nice frog splash for two. With Rollins down in the corner, Paul goes up and tries a Coast To Coast, only to dive into a superkick. The Stomp finishes for Rollins at 16:14.

Rating: B+. These guys tore the house down with some awesome stuff as Paul continues to be an absolute freak of nature out there. He absolutely should not be this good with so little experience but here he is, having a heck of a match with a top WWE star on the biggest stage of them all. I had a great time watching this and you could feel the energy going up over and over throughout. Great match.

We recap Damage CTRL vs. Becky Lynch/Trish Stratus/Lita. Damage CTRL took out Lynch so she brought in Lita of all people to team with her and take the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Lita and Lynch, with an assist from Stratus, actually won the titles so now it’s time for a big grudge match.

Damage CTRL vs. Lita/Trish Stratus/Becky Lynch

Damage CTRL gets a normal entrance while the other three get a movie trailer/comic book style entrance, which is indeed rather cool and fitting for the show. For some reason they come into the stadium in black and white and….well it’s cool but I’m not sure I get the theme here. We get the big staredown to start and the fight is on before the bell. Damage CTRL is cleared out to the floor so Lynch baseball slides into Kai.

Back in and we officially start with Lynch’s early Manhandle Slam attempt being broken up. Sky offers a distraction so Kai can kick Lynch in the head, meaning the villains can take over in the corner. Some knees in the corner give Sky two, followed by a heck of a springboard missile dropkick for the same. A double wheelbarrow suplex/neckbreaker combination gives Bayley two, followed by Kai’s kick to the face for two more.

Lynch manages to send Bayley outside and drop Kai but Bayley pulls Stratus down to break up the tag attempt. Kai is finally knocked down though and the tag brings in Lita for a kind of awkward looking headscissors. Another headscissors sends Sky face first into the corner, setting up a faceplant for two. Lita goes up but Kai offers a cheap shot to put her down as the villains take over again.

Triple kicks drop Lita again before Sky bends the neck around the rope and screams menacingly. Lita manages to DDT her way out of trouble and brings Trish back in to chop away at Kai in the corner. A neckbreaker gives Stratus two but the Stratusphere is broken up. Everything breaks down and an assisted Stratusphere sends Kai off the top and down onto Sky/Bayley.

Back in and we get a rather awful looking Poetry In Motion to Kai, setting up the Disarm-Her from Lynch. Bayley breaks that up and takes Stratus down before pulling Kai over to the right corner in a move heels should use more often. The Rose Plant and Manhandle Slam are broken up but Bayley’s second Rose Plant connects with Lita having to make the save. Stratus comes back in and everything breaks down with everyone but Sky crashing out to the floor.

Sky moonsaults onto the pile and everyone is down at once. All six of them get back in and we have the three on three slugout, much to the fans’ delight. Lita hits Sky with a Twist of Fate and the Chick Kick drops Kai. The Litasault connects on Kai and Sky, leaving Lynch to hit a super Manhandle Slam for the pin at 14:38.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t very good as it felt long and then went another five minutes. Lita can’t really move all that well anymore (a lot of that will have to do with her neck problems) and it was getting tough to watch her out there. Everything else was ok at best and this really needed to be about five or more minutes shorter. Not an awful match, but slow and fairly dull to watch at times.

Video on Bianca Belair vs. Asuka for the former’s Raw Women’s Title on Night Two.

We recap Dominik Mysterio vs. Rey Mysterio. Dominik has been corrupted by Rhea Ripley and the Judgment Day and has gone full evil. This saw him torment his dad for months before finally getting Rey’s attention by going after his own mother. Now Rey is ready to teach his son, who was arrested for invading Rey’s house and now brags about his time (all of a few hours) in jail, a lesson.

Bad Bunny is on Spanish commentary.

Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio

Following a long video showing him being transported from prison (including a shot of Auschwitz (as in the German concentration camp, which WWE had to apologize for using), Dominik is out first and comes to the ring in the back of a police van, where he has to be unshackled (with a lucha mask, which has Michael Cole WAY too incensed). Yeah that’s not going to be topped. Rey is driven to the ring in a low rider (with Eddie Guerrero music) by Snoop Dogg and yeah Dominik wasn’t topped.

Dominik, in gear close to Rey’s Halloween Havoc 1997 attire, locks up to start and gets absolutely nowhere with it. They go to the mat with Dominik taking him down, only to be sent out to the floor. Back in and Rey snaps off a running hurricanrana, meaning Dominik needs a breather. That’s fine with Rey, who headscissors him into the corner, where a whipping ensues. Dominik bails to the floor again, where he grabs a drink from his sister and throws it into her face.

Rey goes over to cut said sister off, allowing Dominik to catapult him into the post. That’s too far even for Graves, who can’t bring himself to defend Dominik on this one. The abdominal stretch goes on back inside before Dominik drops him down, meaning more trash talk can ensue. He yells at his mother enough that she slaps him in the face, allowing Rey to start the comeback.

Back in and Rey starts the comeback, including the springboard spinning crossbody. The Eddie Dance looks to set up Three Amigos but here is Judgment Day as Dominik drives him into the corner. Rey gets a running start but gets flipped over Dominik, sending him face first into the bottom turnbuckle for a VERY hard crash. After the referee makes sure Rey’s face isn’t broken, Dominik tries Three Amigos but Rey slips out of the third.

The 619 connects, only to have the Judgment Day offer a distraction so Dominik can take Rey down again. Rey is sent outside so Judgment Day surrounds him, only for the LWO to come in for the save. Back in and Dominik’s 619 sets up a frog splash for two, meaning frustration is setting in. Dominik unhooks the turnbuckle pad but the referee sees him, allowing Dominik to grab a chain instead. Bad Bunny breaks that up though and it’s a 619 into the frog splash to give Rey the pin at 14:31.

Rating: B. This is a weird one as I remembered absolutely loving it the first time but instead this was just good. The spanking in the corner spot was great and it was by far the biggest match Dominik has had. The big thing here was the Mysterio Family overcome Judgment Day and the evils of Dominik, which is about as feel good of a feeling as you can have.

It told a story and the action was good, making it feel very Wrestlemania worthy. Having the LWO there to cut off Judgment Day and Bad Bunny there to even things out again were nice additions as well. Good stuff overall, though maybe not the classic I remember it being originally.

You should visit Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico tourism bureau really recommends it.

We recap Rhea Ripley challenging Charlotte for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Ripley is the new monster of the division but Charlotte beat her before. This is a very different Ripley though and she wants the title, but also to avenge her loss to Charlotte at Wrestlemania XXXVI.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley

Ripley is challenging. They take their time to start before Ripley runs her over. Back up and Charlotte knocks her out to the floor for a change, with Ripley looking a bit scared. She gets back inside where Charlotte is sent to the apron, only to come back with a big boot. A high crossbody gives Charlotte two but Ripley drops her face first onto the top turnbuckle. Ripley’s bodyscissors slows things down a bit, followed by the chops to keep Charlotte in trouble.

Charlotte is back up with some chops up against the ropes but Ripley snaps off a German suplex for two. Another comeback lets Charlotte drop her on the turnbuckle and hit some clotheslines, followed by the big chops to really stagger Ripley. Back up and Ripley rolls through a high crossbody and tries Riptide, only to get countered into a heck of a DDT for a near fall. Stereo big boots leave them both down for a minute before it’s time to slug it out. Ripley sends her into the knee but Charlotte snaps off a t-bone suplex.

Charlotte takes too long going up though and it’s a release German superplex for two, leaving Ripley shaken up. The breather lets Charlotte go after the knee and Natural Selection gets two. They go outside, where Charlotte misses a charge into the steps, allowing Ripley to grab a belly to back faceplant for two. Riptide is countered into a German suplex to put Ripley down but she’s back up with a German suplex to put Charlotte down on her face (that was almost really bad as Charlotte barely rotated enough).

Charlotte is fine enough to hit a heck of a big boot for tow more but the Figure Four is blocked again. A staggered Ripley rolls to the apron, where Charlotte hits another big boot. The moonsault to the floor actually connects but Ripley blocks the Figure Four again. The spear misses and a quick Riptide gets two, leaving Ripley absolutely stunned (you don’t see that every day). With the covers not working, Ripley grabs the Prism Trap, which looks even more impressive with someone as tall as Charlotte.

The rope is reached and Ripley almost runs into the referee, allowing Charlotte to come back with a spear for two of her own. Another big boot (Charlotte likes those) drops Ripley and the Figure Four finally goes on but the rope is grabbed in about half a second. They go up top, where Ripley drops her face first onto the post. That sets up a super Riptide to knock Charlotte good and silly for the pin and the title at 23:34.

Rating: A. I gave this a B+ last year and I completely shortchanged the whole thing. These two beat the living daylights out of each other and it felt like an absolute war with Ripley being crowned as the new queen. This is the match that Ripley needed to win and WWE got it absolutely right with the victory coming in a war. It was time for something new in the division and that was Ripley, who had to beat Charlotte to get there after what happened three years ago. Outstanding match here and an instant classic.

Video on Gunther defending the Intercontinental Title against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus on Night Two.

Austin Theory says he showed John Cena. Do you believe in him now?

Miz and Snoop Dogg announce tonight’s attendance: 80,497. Snoop says the only thing that would be better than that would be if Miz had a match tonight and Miz agrees. He put out an open challenge, but no one responded. Everyone knows that he is the toughest man here and we hit the catchphrase….which is cut off by Pat McAfee.

Cole stands up and Graves looks crushed all over again. McAfee says high to the beautiful people and greets Snoop before saying no one heard about this open challenge. He’s wearing his Wrestlemania tank top and the challenge is on. Miz would love to do it but he’s just the host of Wrestlemania so he can’t make the match. McAfee mocks Miz’s testicular fortitude so Snoop decides he can make the match. Miz tells Snoop to do this instead. Snoop: “I don’t do this. I rap.” And the bell rings.

Pat McAfee vs. Miz

McAfee slugs away to start and catches a charging Miz with a spinebuster. Miz goes up top but McAfee goes up with him and then backflips away. A superkick (and a nice one) knocks a diving Miz out of the air so Miz is ready to walk. For reasons of celebrity involvement, Miz shoves NFL tight end George Kittle, who jumps the barricade (security around here is awful) and clotheslines Miz. That lets McAfee go up onto the post and flip dive down onto Miz for the big crash. Back in and McAfee hits the Punt for the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C. This was the goofy fun that they knew it would be as Miz continues to be the perfect choice for the goof who can be beaten down and come back again later no matter what. McAfee is a nice celebrity guest star as he can more than handle himself in a short match and the fans seemed to like him. Good, easy fun here.

Wrestlemania XL is in Philadelphia.

Night Two rundown.

We recap the Usos defending the Tag Team Titles against Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens. Zayn had been part of the Bloodline but they eventually turned on him, leaving Zayn to turn to his long time, on again/off again partner Owens, who did not trust Zayn. There was one too many beatdowns though, and Owens finally reformed the team with Zayn to set up the title match, as they have to bring the Bloodline down one way or another. The other aspect of this is Jey Uso, who seemed to trust Zayn before getting stabbed in the back as well. Zayn still seems to believe in Jey, which adds a bit of a twist to the whole thing.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

The Usos are defending and are played to the ring by Lil Uzi Vert. Owens and Zayn are so fired up and you can feel every bit of it. After the Big Match Intros, Zayn seems ready to start with Jimmy but Jey comes in instead. Jey shoulders Zayn down but he comes back with right hands for a change. Jimmy low bridges Zayn to the floor though as the villains start taking over.

A suplex to the floor and a boot to the face keep Zayn in trouble, with Jey adding a Stinger Splash for two. Zayn finally manages to send the champs outside though and it’s Owens coming in to clean house. A big flip dive to the floor drops the Usos and a frog splash from the apron/top rope each gets two on Jimmy. Back in and Jey hits a pop up neckbreaker to cut Owens off though and we slow back down.

Owens fights back and tries a Swanton, only to hit raised knees. Jimmy adds a quick Superfly Splash for two and the near fall has Jimmy confused. Some superkicks put Jimmy into the corner though and it’s a Cannonball to Jimmy, with Zayn brainbustering Jey on the apron. The Swanton gives Owens two and Zayn adds his own Superfly Splash for two more. Cole references El Generico for the OLE chants but Jey cuts things off with a superkick.

A high quantity of superkicks get two on Zayn, with Owens having to make a save. Another superkick gets two but this time Zayn kicks out himself. Owens tries to come in sans tag but gets spinebustered through the announcers’ table for his efforts. Back in and the 1D gets two on Zayn, with Cole (and the fans) LOSING IT over the kickout. The livid Jey shouts at Zayn in the corner, slapping away while saying they were brothers.

Jey hits a Helluva Kick but Zayn grabs an exploder suplex into the corner. The tag brings in Owens for powerbombs a plenty, setting up a Helluva Kick from Zayn to Jimmy. The Stunner gets two on Jey and everyone is down. They all pull themselves up and the fight is on again, meaning more and more superkicks.

The Usos’ superkicks are superer though and Owens is down while Zayn is knocked to the floor. The double Superfly Splashes get two and the Usos are stunned. Zayn breaks up the super 1D though and Owens superplexes Jimmy, allowing the tag to Zayn for the Helluva Kick to Jey. Another Helluva Kick to Jey, a Stunner to Jimmy and a third Helluva Kick to Jey FINALLY give us new champions at 24:07.

Rating: B+. This was all about the emotion, as Owens and Zayn had such a long story to not only win the titles, but they headlined Wrestlemania (two in a row for Owens) to do so. That is one of those “who would have believed it” stories and my goodness the payoff was worth the wait. If nothing else, the fact that neither of them had won a Tag Team Title in WWE until now is almost hard to fathom. The match itself was rather good too and they nailed the finish as it had to be Zayn pining Jey, but even the Young Bucks would tell them to tone down the superkicks here. Heck of a main event though.

A big celebration and the highlight package take us out for the night.

Overall Rating: A-. There were eight matches on here (one of which was the impromptu celebrity match) and five of them were very good to excellent. That is getting into all time territory and if the other two matches (Cena/Theory and the six woman tag) could have held up even a bit more, it’s one of the best shows ever. For now, I’ll more than go with what they gave us, including an excellent Ripley vs. Charlotte match.

The biggest thing here though was how grand everything felt. From the stadium to the set to the crowd to the action, it felt like the biggest show in the world and that is what sets Wrestlemania apart. There is nothing like it in wrestling and this one blew a bunch of its predecessors out of the water. I liked it a lot on the first viewing and the repeat might have been even better. Definitely worth a look if you haven’t seen it before or even since the original airing.

Ratings Comparison

John Cena vs. Austin Theory

Original: C
Redo: C

Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy vs. Ricochet/Braun Strowman vs. Viking Raiders

Original: B
Redo: B

Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B+
Redo: B+

Damage CTRL vs. Becky Lynch/Trish Stratus/Lita

Original: C-
Redo: C-

Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio

Original: A-
Redo: B

Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte

Original: B+
Redo: A

Pat McAfee vs. Miz

Original: C
Redo: C

Usos vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

Original: A-
Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+
Redo: A-

Pretty close all around but it’s better than a B+ overall.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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WWE World
Date: April 16, 2026
Location: Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Jeremy Borash, Robert Stone

So this is something that has been done a few times before, as there are live matches taking place at WWE World. This time though, WWE is actually broadcasting them on Youtube. Odds are these aren’t going to be the biggest matches in the world but I’ll take it over nothing at all. Let’s get to it.

NXT Women’s North American Title: Alba Fyre vs. Tatum Paxley

Paxley is defending and there’s a giant inflatable version of her next to the entrance. They go with the grappling to start and Fyre quickly escapes the front facelock and hits a quick dropkick. Paxley rolls her up for two and sends Fyre outside, where Fyre sends Paxley into the steps.

Back in and a basement superkick gives Fyre two but she misses a knee drop as commentary hypes up next week’s NXT. A running flipping ax kick gives Paxley two but she misses a 450. Fyre’s Gory Bomb gets two so she tries another rollup, only to get caught with her feet on the ropes. Paxley gets up and grabs a quick Cemetery Drive for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: C+. This is exactly what you want on a show (ok it’s not really a show) like this as you have some stakes with the title on the line and Paxley gets the win over a main roster star. The match isn’t supposed to be some classic but but they had a completely competent match, which shouldn’t be surprising. WWE has raised the basement of what they do in the ring and you could see it again here.

Lilian Garcia hypes up the rest of the weekend before introducing the next match.

Fraxiom vs. Motor City Machine Guns

Sabin and Frazer start things off with a bit of running until Sabin takes him down without much trouble. Everything breaks down and Fraxiom knees them out to the floor, where the Guns score with stereo kicks. Back in and Sabin’s slingshot hilo gets two on Axiom and a step up elbow to the back gives Shelley two. Some rapid fire elbows connect for two more but Axiom manages to fight out of…well not much as he’s sent outside again.

Axiom kicks them down though and brings Frazer back in for a Sling Blade to Sabin. They go up top with Sabin’s super hurricanrana being blocked, allowing him to hit a double high crossbody. Shelley is sent outside though, leaving Sabin to superkick Frazer. Back in and Axiom is cleared out, meaning it’s the Dirt Bomb to pin Frazer at 11:07.

Rating: B-. This was pretty much exactly what you would expect: a fast paced match between two teams who know how to do this style perfectly well. It’s nice to see the Guns getting a win, or even ring time, as they haven’t been around much lately. I could go for seeing more of it, though that might not be the most likely result.

Overall Rating: C+. This was exactly as advertised: a couple of basic matches that serve as background noise. If you were at WWE World and didn’t want to stand in line, here is some live action to see instead. That’s been done dating back into the early days of Axxess because it’s just not a hard thing to put together. The tag match was good and the opener was fine, so for around half an hour, I’ve seen far worse.

Results
Tatum Paxley b. Alba Fyre – Cemetery Drive
Motor City Machine Guns b. Fraxiom – Dirt Bomb to Frazer

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Progress Chapter 193: Las Vegas II
Date: April 16, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Joe Dombrowski, D’Lo Brown

We’re back in Las Vegas with the British promotion that you might have heard of before. I’ve only seen a bit from this place over the years so I’m not sure what to expect this time around. Believe it or not, the main event is for the World Title, which is a pretty safe way to go. Let’s get to it.

The opening video seems to be a standard one for the promotion rather than this show.

Subculture vs. Kuro/LJ Cleary

Kuro is a replacement for Tommy Tanner who isn’t here because…I’m guessing aliens. Cleary ties up Webster for two off la majistral and it’s off to Andrews for a change. Kuro snaps off a dropkick and faceplant to drop Andrews, who cuts him right back off. An inverted flipping backsplash gives Andrews two and it’s back to Cleary for a slam.

Cleary poses a bit and drops an elbow before sending Andrews into the corner. A dropkick into a leg trap Tombstone gets two, with Webster not getting in for the save. Andrews’ double Pele misses and everything breaks down. Clearly’s tornado DDT takes out Kuro by mistake and it’s a poisonrana/big boot combination to pin Cleary at 7:55.

Rating: C+. They had a quick but fine match with a story being told as well. The idea here was rather simple: Subculture are a regular team and know each other while Kuro and Cleary were thrown together and didn’t have the same chemistry. That’s more than I was expecting and the match wound up going pretty well. Subculture has done well almost every time I’ve seen them and that was the case again here.

Video on the Super Strong Style 16 tournament, which will have a men’s and women’s edition this year.

Simon Miller vs. Danny Jones

Miller works on a headlock to start and mocks Jones a bit. Jones gets low bridged to the floor, where he can slam the knee into the apron to take over. Back in and Jones chops him down before slapping the top of Miller’s head for some disrespect. Miller picks him up and puts him down with a belly to back suplex and the straps come down. Jones pulls him into a Falcon Arrow for two but takes WAY too long going up. Miller avoids a charge and hits a spear into the Jackhammer for the pin at 7:29.

Rating: C+. Miller is a rare case where he went from a celebrity to someone who was actually making a run out of an in-ring career. He’s not bad at all and works well as a power guy with some charisma. While I can’t imagine him getting much further than a star in Progress and similar promotions, he’s doing rather well with what he’s doing and that’s pretty impressive.

Super Strong Styles 16 First Round: Ethan Allen vs. Lio Rush

Rush is in full on Gollum mode and talks to himself in the corner at the opening bell. Allen goes after him and gets attacked in the corner but whips Rush in instead. Rush blocks a kick though and hits an enziguri to send Allen outside. That’s fine with Allen, who drops Rush hard onto the apron.

Back in and a kick to the back sets up Allen’s chinlock, with Allen punching him in the face to make it worse. Rush fights up and gets the speed going, with a flip into an enziguri dropping Allen for two more. Allen slaps on a quick rear naked choke before switching to a double arm crank. With nothing else working, Rush bites the rope to make the escape. Rush sends him outside and does his weird crawl thing, setting up a suicide dive. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Rush the pin at 10:08.

Rating: C+. The more I see of Rush’s new character, the less necessary it seems to be. Rush is an athletic star and has a good look in the first place. This just makes him seem more goofy than anything else and that isn’t a good sign. Hopefully it doesn’t last long, though I have a bad feeling it is going to be around for the foreseeable future.

Emersyn Jayne vs. Lena Kross vs. Mercedes Martinez vs. Renee Michelle vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Jayne is “the Mother Teresa Of Workrate”. It’s a brawl to start of course and Blackheart is sent outside. She’s right back in to break up stereo delayed suplexes, followed by a dropkick to break up a Doomsday Device. We get a four way Devil’s Kiss until Martinez kicks them in the head to cut that off.

Kross gets to snap off some suplexes but Jayne takes over on Michelle. Back up and Michelle hits a dive, leaving Martinez to German superplex Jayne. Blackheart ties Martinez in the Tree Of Woe for a stomp but she’s right back with a spinebuster to Michelle. Jayne rolls Martinez up for the pin at 6:43.

Rating: C+. Take a bunch of people, put them in the ring at the same time and let them go nuts. There isn’t much else you can do for a match like this, though having five people in there rather than almost double that many is a nice relief. As usual, no one really got to stand out but there were some familiar names so at least it wasn’t a bunch of random spots from strangers.

Proteus Title: Paul Walter Hauser vs. Big Damo

Hauser (the actor) is defending and is putting up $100,000 for a bonus. In addition, Hauser has been champion for over a year but refuses to defend the title on British soil, making him a big heel for a change. Damo chases him to the floor but Hauser…slaps him, which doesn’t seem to be a good idea.

Some big forearms put Hauser down but a backsplash misses. Hauser’s rather weak chops just tick Damo off and he puts Hauser down with a single shot. A spinebuster and elbow give Damo two and he plants Hauser with a superplex. The gets pulled into the corner so Damo can crush him with a splash. Hauser gets in a low blow to retain the title at 6:48.

Rating: C. I remember Hauser winning the title last year and I’m kind of stunned to see him still holding the thing. If nothing else, making him a heel is quite the move and he did it well enough. Hauser isn’t a great worker or anything, but it’s cool to see him taking this seriously and trying something new. Not a great match, but I got what they were going for here.

Post match Hauser praises the American fans and mocks the British fans. Simon Miller, the former champion, shows up to chase Hauser back inside, where Damo gives him the Belfast Blitz. Then he does it again..and Miller goes to steal the $100,000. There’s no money in the suitcase though so Hauser gets hit in the head with the case.

Women’s Super Strong Style 16 First Round: Rhio vs. Vert Vixen

Rhio avoids a charge into the corner to start and they go out to the apron. A package piledriver doesn’t work so Rhio hits a belly to back suplex instead. Back in and Vixen takes her down for an early chinlock, followed by a choke in the corner. Rhio gets kicked out to the floor, where Vixen drops her again and poses a bit.

As usual that takes too long and Rhio is back with a dive to take over. They get back in and slug it out with Vixen getting the better of things, followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Rhio’s MuscleBuster gets the same and a crossbody puts Vixen down again. A fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Rhio two but she still can’t hit the package piledriver. Vixen’s charge misses and now the package piledriver finishes for Rhio at 10:55.

Rating: B-. It’s no surprise that Rhio is on so many radars, as she checks a lot of boxes. She has the size, a nice look, and is a heck of an athlete. Having her move on is a smart idea as she seems like a favorite to win the whole tournament. Vixen is an interesting case as well, as she’s quite the star outside of AEW, which is a shame as she rarely gets a chance to do anything there.

Progress World Title: Michael Oku vs. Man Like DeReiss

Oku, with Amira, is challenging and DeReiss (with Brodie Lee Jr.) raps his way to the ring as usual. Oku dropkicks him in the corner at the bell, setting up a frog splash for two. A backdrop puts Oku down but he’s right back with something like a Sling Blade over the top. Back in and Oku grabs a snapmare but has to bail out on a top rope moonsault.

DeReiss knocks him down again though and an elbow to the face gets two. They trade shots for a double down and Lee slides in the title. DeReiss doesn’t want it that way so Amira goes after Oku. DeReiss has to save Lee from a half crab but misses Cool Runnings (450). Instead DeReiss kicks him into the corner for a very spinning Blue Thunder Bomb.

Oku escapes a leg lock and gets the half crab, with Lee teasing throwing in the towel. That’s broken up and Oku sends DeReiss outside, setting up the Fosbury Flop. Back in and DeReiss pulls a dive out of the air for a swinging Downward Spiral, setting up Cool Runnings for two. A piledriver gets two more and DeReiss Sharpshooters him to retain at 13:46.

Rating: B. This was more like it, as it came off like a main event World Title showdown between two rather talented wrestlers. You don’t get to see that very often, and it’s nice to see DeReiss being able to back up his cool entrance in the ring. Oku is slowly growing on me and his in-ring abilities are more than good enough to keep him around for a long while to come. Good main event here.

Post match Lee makes amends with Oku and Amira. DeReiss celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. As usual, Progress puts on a good show with a solid main event and enough hard work from a talented roster. It’s not a classic or anything (though the main event is worth a look) but for a show that runs just over two hours, it’s worth your time. I could go for more of Progress, as they’re always worth a look when they come stateside.

Results
Subculture b. Kuro/LJ Cleary – Big boot/poisonrana combination to Cleary
Simon Miller b. Danny Jones – Jackhammer
Lio Rush b. Ethan Allen – Blue Thunder Bomb
Emersyn Jayne b. Lena Kross, Mercedes Martinez, Renee Michelle and Shotzi Blackheart – Rollup to Martinez
Paul Walter Hauser b. Big Damo – Low blow
Rhio b. Vert Vixen – Package piledriver
Man Like DeReiss b. Michael Oku – Sharpshooter

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Wrestlemania XXXVIII Night Two
Date: April 3, 2022
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Attendance: 78,453
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Jimmy Smith
America The Beautiful: Jesse James Decker

It’s the second half of the show and WWE has a lot to live up to after the first night. This half is built around the unification match for the WWE and Universal Titles as Brock Lesnar faces Roman Reigns in the BIGGEST WRESTLEMANIA MATCH EVER (THIS YEAR!). Other than that, Pat McAfee is facing Austin Theory in a match that has gotten a lot of TV time. Let’s get to it.

I was in the stadium for this show, sitting in the third deck with the stage on my right.

Jesse James Decker performs America The Beautiful.

Video on Night One.

Mark Walhberg talks about how the sequel is almost never quite as good as the original, but it might be tonight. This is going to be all about the emotions and it’s not edge of your seat, but out of your seat. Points for doing a separate video instead of the same one again.

Here is HHH to get things going. He gets his full entrance and poses on every corner…before being handed a pair of boots. With the boots in the ring, he thanks the fans and welcomes us to Wrestlemania as pyro goes off. HHH goes over to hug his family (including Stephanie McMahon, his children and others) and leaves to the side of the ramp. This would be his retirement due to his heart issues and you can probably imagine he was going to have at least one more big match.

Gable Steveson is here again.

Raw Tag Team Titles: RKBro vs. Alpha Academy vs. Street Profits

RKBro is defending and these teams have been fighting over the titles for weeks, with only the Profits not winning them at some point. Otis cleans house to start before all six get in for the big brawl. With the ring clearing out, Ford hits the big running flip dive to the floor, followed by Gable moonsaulting onto almost everyone. Back in and Otis splashes Riddle but slaps him around instead of covering.

Gable comes in to work on Riddle’s leg but Riddle fights up. Ford is back in and gets over to Dawkins for the tag so house can be cleaned. Otis splashes Dawkins and Riddle but misses a charge into the corner. Riddle Bro To Sleeps Dawkins and Orton comes in to clean house. The Academy is dropped onto the announcers’ table but Otis is back up to take out everyone else. Gable is back up with a Steiner Bulldog for two on Ford but Dawkins breaks up a Vader Bomb.

The Profits hit a Doomsday Blockbuster on Gable before knocking Riddle outside. Dawkins blocks the RKO and hits a spinebuster on Orton before flip diving onto Otis. Ford loads up a frog splash….but Riddle springboards to the top to RKO him back down in an awesome spot. Not to be outdone, Gable goes up but Orton pulls him out of the air into the RKO to retain at 11:32.

Rating: B-. This was the usual wild triple threat match that would have felt fine on a big time house show. Watching Riddle and Orton hit one RKO after another is always fun as they really did have it down to a science. While it was entertaining, I couldn’t have told you this opened the show to save my life as it had absolutely no staying power.

Post match the Profits and RKO are ready to share a drink. Hold on though as they want Gable Steveson to join them. Steveson gets in, but Gable knocks the cup out of his hand. Orton and Riddle look stunned (Orton’s face is hilarious) as Steveson takes his shirt off. Gable demands respect as the ring clears out. Gable even has some advice for Steveson: SHHHHHHHHHHUSH! That earns him an overhead belly to belly and now the toasting can ensue.

Bobby Lashley vs. Omos

No MVP here despite him being Lashley’s manager. Omos powers him down to start and then drives Lashley face first into a knee. Lashley tries to power out of a head vice but gets clotheslined down instead. Omos hits a charge in the corner (or close to it, as he somehow missed a running splash) but Lashley starts hammering away. The Hurt Lock is blocked though and Omos clotheslines him down.

Lashley manages to catch him on the ropes and goes up, only to be pulled out of the air for a fireman’s carry slam. Back up and Lashley charges into a bearhug, which is driven hard into the corner. The bearhug goes on again but Lashley fights out again and slugs away. Somehow Lashley manages a suplex (egads) and a spear to the back sets up the regular version to finish Omos at 6:36.

Rating: C-. This was the spectacle match of the show and it was only so good. There are only so many things that Omos can do in the ring and Lashley made it work as well as it could. Not a good match but they did keep it short and it didn’t get too insane. The suplex worked as a big spot too so it could have been worse, as weak as it was.

We recap Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn. Knoxville was in the Royal Rumble to do publicity for his new Jackass movie and Zayn freaked out, sending him into an obsessive feud to destroy Knoxville once and for all. Then Knoxville fought back by having Zayn’s phone number flown on a banner above Los Angeles, resulting in Zayn receiving 60,000+ texts. The solution: an anything goes match.

Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville

Anything goes and Zayn kicks him in the face at the bell to start fast. They head outside with Zayn sending him into the barricade right in front of the Jackass crew. The crew goes after him, allowing Knoxville to come up with a fire extinguisher blast for a breather. Back in and Zayn busts out the cookie sheet to take over before switching over to a crutch. With that broken over Knoxville’s back, it’s time to bring in a table (of course).

Zayn goes for another table….and gets his hand caught in a mouse trap. It seems that there is a table covered in them (because reasons of Knoxville) and the delay lets Knoxville bang some trashcan lids around Zayn’s head. Knoxville sets up the table in the corner but gets suplexed through it instead. The helluva Kick is loaded up but Knoxville whips out an airhorn to cut it off.

Cue part of the Jackass crew, with a guy described as a party boy dancing and stripping (Cole: “It’s Naked Mideon 2.0!”). Zayn takes him out and Knoxville uses the distraction to grab a rollup for two. With the party boy kicked underneath the ring, Wee Man (he’s short) pops out and beats Zayn up, including a slam back inside (the place goes NUTS for that). Knoxville’s tornado DDT gets two as commentary is losing it over this whole thing.

Wee Man pulls out a machine with a boot attached and designed to kick someone low. Instead Zayn kicks him in the face and sends him outside before going up top. That’s fine with Knoxville, who whips out a remote control to spray pyro from the corner Zayn is standing on. With Zayn down in the corner, there’s a bowling ball between the legs and then the boot machine kicks him low again.

Knoxville whips out a tazer (sure) so Zayn runs….right into a giant hand that slaps him in the face. Back in and Zayn grabs a suplex before going up again. This time, Knoxville tongs him low and sends Zayn flying through the mousetrap table. Now the Jackass crew pulls out a giant mousetrap (just go with it) and Knoxville tazes Zayn onto it, with the trap springing for the pin (ignore Zayn’s shoulders being on the trap and not the mat) at 14:33.

Rating: B-. This is the definition of “it wasn’t for me”, but the stadium was going NUTS for the whole thing and they embraced everything insane about the whole thing. It was a total stunt show instead of a match (which is what it needed to be) and Zayn got wrecked by one stunt after another. I never need to see it again, but for a one off, it was goofy fun. Less than three weeks later, Zayn would need something to make him feel better after all this, so he started talking to the Bloodline. Not bad for a next step.

Here’s part of Drew McIntyre beating Happy Corbin last night and then cutting the ring ropes.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Sasha Banks/Naomi vs. Carmella/Queen Zelina vs. Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya/Shayna Baszler

One fall and Carmella/Vega are defending. Banks and Naomi ride out in a rather expensive looking car while Liv and Rhea have something of a Catwoman/Donnie Darko theme. Ripley starts and no one wants to fight her until Banks comes in for the staredown. Banks gets powered down but comes back up with an armbar that doesn’t last long. Riptide is blocked and Banks realizes she needs to think twice here.

Naomi comes in but everything breaks down with most of the, going outside. Banks and Morgan both hit dives before going back inside for a staredown. Back to back Codebreakers rock Morgan and Oblivion makes it worse, only to have Natalya take Morgan down. Baszler comes in and stomps on Morgan’s leg as things slow back down. The leg cranking ensues before Carmella comes in to send Morgan into the corner.

Everything breaks down again with Carmella hurricanranaing Ripley off the top. Naomi and Banks hit double Eat Defeat on Morgan and go up, only to have it broken up. That means stereo Towers of Doom, with Morgan and Ripley handling the powerbombs. Everyone is down for a bit until Riptide into a backstabber gives Ripley two on Naomi.

Morgan breaks up Baszler’s cover on Naomi and gets faceplanted for her efforts. A Hart Attack is broken up and Carmella takes Naomi down for some near falls. Banks is back in with a frog splash to Carmella but Vega breaks up the Crossface. The Meteora from the apron hits Vega and Naomi kicks Carmella in the head. A wheelbarrow slam/Codebreaker combination hits Carmella to give Banks the pin and the titles at 10:50.

Rating: C. It wasn’t exactly great and as usual, there were so many people here that it might as well have been a free for all. The wrestling was only so good and the titles feeling so completely unimportant doesn’t help. These feel like thrown together teams fighting over the titles and that doesn’t quite make it feel Wrestlemania worthy. If these titles are supposed to mean something, stop having makeshift teams fighting over them. At least you now have a steady pair of hands in Naomi and Banks to hold them, as they should be fine for a long time to come.

We look back at Miz and Logan Paul beating the Mysterios and then breaking up because Paul wanted to leave as a good guy.

We recap Edge vs. AJ Styles. Edge wanted a special opponent so Styles accepted, only for Edge to go full villain and Conchairto him. Now Styles is back and wanting revenge.

AJ Styles vs. Edge

Styles is bleeding from the side of his face, apparently having hit himself on the set on the way in. Since it’s Wrestlemania, Edge rises up onto a throne surrounded by fire. They stare at each other to start until Styles starts knocking him away. The dropkick looks to set up the Calf Crusher but Edge is straight over to the ropes. Back up and Edge is sent outside, with Styles ramming him head first into the steps to make things more violent.

The springboard 450 hits raised knees back inside, with Edge holding his knee in something that rarely happens off of that counter. Edge’s knee is fine enough for the posing before he kicks away at Styles. The abdominal stretch goes on but Styles goes after the knee to break it up. A shoulder breaker cuts Styles down again though and they’re down long enough that we can look at some of the giant graphics for the match around the stadium.

Back up and Styles misses a hard charge into the corner and they’re both down again. Edge hits a Codebreaker onto the bad arm and it’s time to crank on both arms at once. Styles can’t Pele his way out of trouble as Edge pulls him into an STF, which he switches into a Crossface (sounds like a Samoa Joe fan). That’s broken up with a quick rope break and we slow down again.

Edge misses a spear and Styles grabs a slingshot DDT for the double knockdown (again). Styles goes up top but gets caught by Edge. That doesn’t work either, as Styles slips out and kicks the bad knee, setting up a torture rack spun into a powerbomb for two more. Edge is back up but charges into a German suplex to put them both down again. They slug it out until Styles manages a Pele Kick but the Calf Crusher is blocked again.

The Crossface has Styles in big trouble until he rolls his way to freedom. The Edge-O-Matic gives Edge two and a slingshot powerbomb gets the same. They both take their time getting up and head to the corner, where Styles superplexes him down onto the apron (ouch). Back in and the springboard 450 hits Edge’s back for two. The Phenomenal Forearm and spear both miss so Styles hits the Styles Clash for a rather near fall. Styles loads up the Phenomenal Forearm….but Damien Priest (US Champion at the time) is here to offer him a distraction. The delay lets Edge spear Styles out of the air for the pin at 24:26.

Rating: B. This was a good, hard hitting match that felt like it belonged on the big stage, but the double downs got a bit repetitive as they probably burned off five minutes of just laying on the mat. The distraction finish was a bit annoying as well as it just cut everything else off, but it certainly seemed to set up something for the future. Either way, best match of the night so far.

Tonight’s attendance: 78,354.

Byron Saxton replaces Pat McAfee, who has to get ready for his match with Austin Theory.

Brawling Brutes vs. New Day

Butch is here with the Brutes. New Day has Big E. inspired gear, even down to the singlets, for a nice touch. Butch loses his mind on the floor before the bell and the brawl is on inside. The bell rings and Kofi hits Trouble In Paradise on Holland. Sheamus pulls Kofi outside though, leaving Woods to make a save. Back in and Kofi seems to leave a top rope shot to the face a bit short as Woods takes the straps down.

A running Downward Spiral hits Holland but Sheamus Brogue Kicks Kofi on the floor. Back in and Woods superkicks Holland (he’s taking a beating here)…but Sheamus Brogue Kicks Woods silly. Northern Grit finishes Woods at 1:42. So Big E.’s career might have been ended and his team loses in less than two minutes at Wrestlemania. This place isn’t nice to New Day (as they lost to the League Of Nations here in 2016 as well).

We look back at Cody Rhodes returning and facing Seth Rollins. These recaps might as well have a big sign saying FILLER. Or PEACOCK COMMERCIALS.

The Hall of Fame class is honored again, with only Undertaker coming out in person. Undertaker comes out, waves, and that’s it. I’m not sure why this needed to happen two nights in a row and the way it happened again made me think it was going to be an angle but…yeah nothing, even after it goes on for a good while.

We recap Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory. McAfee talks about everything he has accomplished from the NFL to his talk show, but he has always been a fan who wanted to wrestle. He even trained to wrestle with Rip Rogers before he came to WWE so he has a background. Vince McMahon was a guest on the Pat McAfee Show and offered McAfee a chance for a match. This wound up being against Theory, who has tormented him ever since, with McAfee chasing after him and annoying McMahon in the process.

Austin Theory vs. Pat McAfee

Vince McMahon personally introduces Theory (as a future Universal Champion). McAfee on the other hand has the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders with him in an appropriate entrance. Some right hands have Theory in trouble early but he goes to McAfee’s throat to cut him down. A jumping back elbow has Theory down again as the fans are rather into McAfee. There’s a hurricanrana for two but Theory plants him and smiles down at Vince.

McAfee manages a quick suplex for a breather and Theory heads out to the apron. They head outside and McAfee grabs a headset to say hi to his parents before pouring ice over Theory. Back in and a heck of a Swanton misses for McAfee so Theory grabs a belly to back slam for two.

Theory goes up but McAfee catches him on top, only to be shoved off. That’s fine with McAfee, who does a pretty sweet moonsault to land on his feet. A jump up to the top (that was cool) sets up a top rope superplex (McAfee shouldn’t be this good this soon) for a delayed two on Theory. Back up and Theory gets in a shot and tries A Town Down, which is countered into a rollup to give McAfee the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a celebrity match as McAfee got to show off his athleticism (that jump to the top into the superplex was very good). McAfee is one of those guys who seems to just “get” wrestling and that is one of the most valuable things anyone can have. McAfee had to win after the build to the match and it was good stuff, as McAfee can talk and actually back it up.

Post match McAfee celebrates and Vince is ticked. Vince is so ticked….that he takes his jacket off (the place is VERY interested). The shirt comes off and Vince gets in the ring (Cole: “WHY IS THERE A REFEREE IN THE RING???”). It seems that we’re doing this but Theory jumps McAfee from behind. Let’s ring that bell.

Vince McMahon vs. Pat McAfee

McMahon clotheslines him at the bell and then does it again, earning a YOU STILL GOT IT chant. The stall is on but McAfee Colts Up but McMahon distracts the referee, allowing Theory to crotch McAfee against the post. With McAfee down, McMahon gets a Dallas Cowboys football and punts it into McAfee’s stomach for the pin at 3:44.

Rating: D-. So that’s how the crowd gets killed after being on fire from the McAfee match. One might think it would have been a better idea to put Theory over if they wanted to go this way, but seeing McMahon in the ring for (probably) one last time is a special moment. That being said, this wasn’t a match for the most part and the ending was awful, but what else were you expecting?

Post match Vince and Theory hug and Vince seems a big scared by Theory’s music playing. Then the glass shatters and Vince has a better reason to be afraid. Steve Austin comes out, beats up Theory, gives McMahon the all time worst Stunner (as Vince falls down both before and after) and drinks beer (good thing it was ready in case he made a surprise appearance) with McAfee. Then he Stuns McAfee, who probably could not be more thrilled.

We look at Bianca Belair’s marching band entrance before she won the Raw Women’s Title.

Wrestlemania XXXIX is in Los Angeles.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns in a World Title unification match. Reigns has been Universal Champion for a year and a Lesnar has held the title for about five minutes. Now they’re unifying them because Reigns vs. Lesnar must headline at least one major event every year until the end of time.

Universal Title/WWE Title: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Winner take all and Paul Heyman is here with Reigns (the Usos come to the ring with him but head to the back before the match). Heyman and Lesnar handle the intros (Lesnar has done that a time or two) before the latter takes off his gloves to start the match. Reigns hammers away and drives him into the corner a few times without much trouble. Three straight suplexes have Reigns in trouble and a clothesline puts him on the floor. Heyman offers a distraction though (Heyman: “I’ve always loved you. It was Roman’s idea!”) and Reigns hits a spear through the barricade.

Back in and Reigns hits another spear for two and a pair of Superman Punches drop Lesnar again. Lesnar is right back up with five German suplexes but the F5 is countered into a Superman Punch. Another spear is countered into the F5 to give Lesnar two of his own as they’re firmly in their signature formula here. Another F5 is countered and Reigns drives Lesnar into the referee in the corner.

A low blow and belt shot give Reigns two and Reigns spears him from behind (ala Lashley about two and a half hours ago, which commentary does note) for the same. Reigns tries another spear but lands in the Kimura, sending Reigns to the ropes this time. Reigns can be heard telling Heyman that his shoulder is “out”, only to spear Lesnar down for the pin at 12:17 (Heyman looked stunned on the pin).

Rating: C+. Yes the action was probably better than that but I’m so completely done with caring about these two having their same match over and over. WWE treated these two as the biggest stars in the company for so long that this is the only way they can finish Wrestlemania. That doesn’t make it interesting though, as Lesnar didn’t feel like a threat and they did the same match they have done almost every time after their first. But hey, at least the ultra dominant Reigns is now even more ultra dominant right? To be fair that wound up working, but finding a better way there would have been appreciated.

Reigns celebrates and a lot of pyro ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a weird one as there are good things about the show, but a lot of it feels like they were trying to fill in time. Too many of the matches came off as things that they needed to do rather than things they wanted to do and it made things a lot less interesting than the previous night. The good stuff is good and it had some moments (one more time for Austin and McMahon, the Knoxville/Zayn stuff and the title unification) but it felt like a pale comparison to Night One, which isn’t something to brag about whatsoever. Not a bad show at all, but you might want to pick and choose.

Overall Overall Rating: B. The show overall is good, but more of the good comes from Night One, which had the action to go with the moments. If they wanted to balance it out a lot more, moving Cody’s return to the other night would have helped, as outside of the main event, the second night didn’t have the deepest lineup. It’s a rather good Wrestlemania overall, but man it feels like an eternity has passed in the last year. Night One is definitely worth a watch though, as it feels like a Wrestlemania. Balance it out a bit and cut down on Night Two (or give us one really long night) and it’s that much better, but this did work.

Ratings Comparison

RKBro vs. Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy

Original: B-
Redo: B-

Omos vs. Bobby Lashley

Original: D+
Redo: C-

Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn

Original: C+
Redo: B-

Sasha Banks/Naomi vs. Natalya/Shayna Baszler vs. Carmella/Queen Zelina vs. Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley

Original: D+
Redo: C

AJ Styles vs. Edge

Original: B-
Redo: B

New Day vs. Brawling Brutes

Original: N/A
Redo: N/A

Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory

Original: C+
Redo: B

Vince McMahon vs. Pat McAfee

Original: D+
Redo: D-

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: C+
Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: C
Redo: B-

Overall Overall Rating

Original: B-
Redo: B

So the second night was mostly better across the board and then the overall overall rating is barely up? That’s a weird one, but this show was a better sit after a year away so maybe it does have some staying power.

Wrestlemania XXXVIII Night One
Date: April 2, 2022
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Attendance: 77,899
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
America the Beautiful: Brantley Gilbert

I’m sure nothing has changed in the last year and that should make things all the more interesting. While I was in the stadium for this show, there are only certain parts of it that stand out as the two night structure leaves some things merging together. The show worked originally and now it is time to see how well it holds up. Let’s get to it.

I was in the stadium for this show, sitting in the next to highest section with the ring to my right.

Brantley Gilbert singes America The Beautiful.

Mark Wahlberg is in the opening video, talking about how this is the show where dreams are made. It’s the night of the big fight and nothing is better, because it’s STUPENDOUS. Yes that really is the best tag line they could find. This is designed to make Wrestlemania feel like the biggest show around and…yeah, well done.

Here are the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. They don’t add anything, but there is the local flavor and the obvious appeal so it makes sense.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs

The Usos are defending and dang I miss Pat McAfee dancing on the announcers’ desk. Nakamura and Boogs earned the shot after Boogs beat Jey by faking a leg injury in a clever move. Nakamura kicks Jey down to start and hits the running knee to the ribs for one. Jey comes in off a blind tag though and it’s a top rope forearm to the chest/backbreaker combination to drop Nakamura.

Some strikes don’t get Nakamura out of trouble as Jey enziguris him down for two. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Nakamura fights up and brings in Boogs to clean house. Boogs muscles Jey up into a delayed vertical suplex for two. Jey gets caught in a fireman’s carry and Jimmy dives on top so Boogs holds them both up….until his knee buckles.

It’s off to Nakamura as Boogs goes outside holding his knee, which now has a torn quadriceps and patella tenon injury and would keep him out for nine months. Nakamura hits the sliding German suplex on Jey, who superkicks him down. Jimmy adds the Superfly Splash for two, followed by the 1D to retain at 6:54.

Rating: C. The injury makes this one hard to grade as it derailed everything they had going on. Boogs was great at getting the hot tag and cleaning house but that only goes so far when your leg more or less exploded. The rest of the match was good enough, but the injury is what is remembered here, as it changed everything they were doing. This already feels like a lifetime ago as Boogs was out and Nakamura has vanished again. That’s on top of the Usos evolving into the monster team with individual personalities they would become soon.

We recap Happy Corbin vs. Drew McIntyre. Corbin’s life fell apart last year in a hilarious story but then he gambled his way up to success and happiness. Then he and his associate Madcap Moss attacked Drew McIntyre to write him off TV due to an injury. McIntyre came back and beat up Moss and now it’s time to do the same to Corbin, who stole McIntyre’s sword to make it personal (don’t worry as McIntyre got it back). It wasn’t any more interesting the first time around.

Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin

Madcap Moss is here with Corbin. McIntyre starts fast and they slug it out until a clothesline puts Corbin down. They go outside with Corbin being sent into the barricade, only to come back and send McIntyre into the post. A whip into the corner drops McIntyre again and a suplex lets Corbin yell some more.

Corbin hits a running shot to the face so Moss gets on the apron to cheer, allowing McIntyre to grab a spinebuster. There’s a neckbreaker to drop Corbin again but the Futureshock is blocked. Deep Six gives Corbin two more but Moss has to bail Corbin out of the threat of the Claymore.

That’s fine with McIntyre, who hits the big running flip dive over the top to the floor. Back in and the Glasgow Kiss sets up the missed Claymore, allowing Corbin to grab End of Days for two (the first ever kickout, because Corbin’s finisher needed to be protected for years). McIntyre has had it and hits the Futureshock into the Claymore for the pin at 8:38.

Rating: C-. This feud wasn’t interesting when it was taking place in real time and it wasn’t any better watching it back. Corbin just doesn’t feel like he is on the same level as McIntyre and there is no way around it. That left McIntyre in little more than an extended workout, which wasn’t an interesting watch. McIntyre needed to get out of this feud as soon as possible because it wasn’t working.

Post match McIntyre grabs the sword and threatens Moss before cutting the top and middle ropes apart.

We recap the Mysterios vs. Logan Paul/Miz. Dominik Mysterio beat Miz, who wasn’t happy about things. That made him bring in Paul for a partner, setting up the tag match.

Miz/Logan Paul vs. Mysterios

Miz and Paul have matching gear, though Miz’s doesn’t come with the world’s most expensive Pokemon card ever to be purchased in a private sale (That thing again?) around his neck. Rey and Miz start things off, with a Paul distraction letting Miz take him into the corner. It’s off to Paul to hammer on the ribs in the corner before Miz comes back in. A hurricanrana gets Rey out of trouble and it’s off to Dominik (who appears to be in gear inspired by Eddie Guerrero from When Worlds Collide), who drops Rey onto Miz.

The Mysterios clear the ring and Dominik hits a springboard twisting dive to drop Miz again. Paul gets in a cheap shot though and grabs a powerslam to plant Dominik. The villains fire off the YES Kicks to Dominik as the pace slows down. A Blockbuster gives Paul two on Dominik, who manages to knock down the rather cocky Miz. The diving tag brings in Rey to take over on Miz, including the top rope seated senton and a kick to the head for two. A moonsault press gets the same as Paul has to make a save this time.

Miz is ready for the 619 so Rey tornado DDTs him instead. Three Amigos are broken up though and Paul hits his own version (to some rather strong heat). The frog splash (with Eddie dance) gets two on Rey as Dominik has to make another save. Dominik dives onto Miz on the floor and it’s a double 619 back inside. Back to back frog splashes hit Paul….but Miz grabs a quick Skull Crushing Finale to finish Rey at 11:15.

Rating: B-. This is almost all about Paul, as the Mysterios and Miz were doing their usual things. Paul came off like a total natural who just gets it when it comes to wrestling. The fact that he is an exceptional athlete makes it even better. This was one of the best celebrity matches you’ll ever see and Paul backed up everything he had been saying for the entire build to the match.

Post match Miz and Paul pose….and Miz turns on Paul to take him out. This was designed to make Paul a good guy, which is quite the path to take.

And now, Stephanie McMahon joins us to thank the fans for being here. She also brings out Gable Steveson to….wave! Yeah this has happened a few times for Steveson without him actually having a match. I’m sure he’ll be fine.

We recap Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Title. Lynch returned and beat Belair at Summerslam in less than a minute to win the (Smackdown Women’s, but it doesn’t exactly matter) title. Belair needs to prove herself again and now she is getting her chance in the big scheduled match (rather than the impromptu title change at Summerslam). There was also a weird thing involving hair cuts and it really didn’t add much. This has been a really well built feud and feels like a major, Wrestlemania worthy showdown.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch

Becky is defending and gets a huge entrance, with a Marvel Cinematic Universe style highlight package before her entrance. She even rides out in a Cadillac Escalade for a bonus. Belair on the other hand comes out to the full Texas State University marching band for a Wrestlemania worthy entrance. Belair’s gear looks awesome too, with the red and black theme and a pair of lips as the top.

They stare each other down until Becky hits her with a right hand and the Manhandle Slam (how she won at Summerslam) for two. Becky goes for some very rapid fire covers and the kickouts have her even more annoyed. A small package frustrates Becky even more but she’s fine enough to reverse a suplex into a DDT (that looked good) for two more. A moonsault (a rare move for Becky) misses though and Belair is right back with her own Disarm-Her.

They fight over rollups for two each until Becky kicks her in the ribs. Becky gets serious by using the hair to pull her to the floor and Belair is shoved hard into the steps. Back in and Belair is sent flying with a suplex as things slow way down. The Fameasser in the ropes gets two on Belair and it’s already time for Becky to get frustrated. The chinlock goes on before Becky tries an armbar, only to get powered up so they can crash out to the floor.

Belair muscles her up for a suplex (with a hard landing) and they go back inside to slug it out. A backbreaker gives Belair two but her powerbomb is countered into a rollup for two. Belair grabs a release Glam Slam, setting up the handspring moonsault for another near fall. Becky catches her on top but Belair manages to reverse into a fireman’s carry drop HARD onto the top rope for a heck of a crash. Belair’s middle rope 450 gets two but Becky knocks her down.

A Molly Go Round is left a bit short though, with Becky’s foot slamming into Belair’s face for two (followed by the referee checking Belair for….well probably quite a few things). Belair is back with a spinebuster but the handspring moonsault hits knees. Belair tries another Glam Slam but gets reversed into a cradle. That’s reversed into another cradle, which is kicked off to send Belair into the corner.

Back up and Belair KOD’s her out to the floor (might work better in the Royal Rumble but it looked good here too). Becky goes for the hair and Manhandle Slams her onto the steps for a nasty crash. That’s good for a nine count and Becky is LIVID. A super Manhandle Slam is loaded up but Belair flips out and hits the KOD for the pin and the title at 19:03.

Rating: A-. I loved it live, I loved it later that night at the hotel and I loved it a year later. This was a BATTLE that felt like a major showdown between two women who wanted to destroy each other and prove that they were the best. It completes Belair’s redemption and seeing Becky FINALLY get pinned made it feel like an even bigger moment. Awesome showdown here and one of the best women’s matches WWE has ever had.

Post match Becky collapses to the floor and looks up as Belair poses with the title on top for an incredible visual (it looks good on TV but it was even better in person).

We recap Seth Rollins vs. a mystery opponent. Rollins was given the annual ridiculous treatment of “how is this former multiple time World Champion and one of the biggest stars we have going to have a Wrestlemania match?”. After losing over and over in attempts to get on the card, Vince McMahon said he can go to Wrestlemania (Vince: “All you had to do was ask.”) but it will be against an opponent of Vince’s choosing. I see no way in which this can go badly.

Seth Rollins vs. ???

Rollins is sung to the ring by a choir and then has to wait for a good while. Some pyro finally goes off and the lights go dark before……”Wrestling has more than one royal family”! Cody Rhodes is back (complete with riser entrance and the Kingdom theme), leaving Rollins smiling and then glaring. This was INCREDIBLE live and a genuine Wrestlemania moment where you could feel the energy and the excitement (which I still pop up on YouTube every so often). Cody had been rumored as the opponent and it made for an outstanding moment. You can see how much it means to Cody and this is some great stuff.

Sidenote before we get to the match: who is the royal family that Rhodes is referring to in the opening? I get that he means the Rhodes family, but is he talking about the McMahons? Is there another family that would count at that level? I’m not sure who else it could be and it would make sense for Rhodes to have that mindset once he left WWE (not so much once he came back, but it’s part of the Cody presentation).

Anyway, the fans are VERY happy to see Cody back, even as he shakes the referee’s hand. Feeling out process to start with Rhodes grabbing a headlock and then turning a cartwheel to get inside Rollins’ head a bit. Rollins is sent into the corner and now the CODY chants seem to be getting to him.

Back up and Rollins tries a suplex but crashes over the top rope, leaving both of them down on the floor. They head back inside with Rhodes working on an armbar into a short armscissors. With that broken up, Rhodes goes up to but gets dropkicked out of the air, meaning Rollins can start in on the ribs. A gutbuster gets one and Rollins grabs a bearhug, which always looks weird from someone who isn’t huge.

Cody fights out and knocks him outside, which of course means the suicide dive to send Rollins over the barricade (for a huge bump). Back in and a moonsault press (which doesn’t quite connect properly) gives Cody two more and they both need a breather. Rollins rolls outside and this time pulls Cody down for a barricade bomb (ouch, as always). A springboard knee to the head and the basement superkick into the Falcon arrow (nice sequence) gives Rollins two more and they’re both down again.

The Stomp is countered into the Cross Rhodes for a very close two and Cody goes up top. That takes too long though and Rollins crotches him down, setting up the reverse superplex, which is rolled into the reverse suplex for another two. Rollins’ Pedigree is blocked but so is Cody’s, leaving Cody to settle for a tiger bomb instead.

The Cody Cutter gets two but Rollins snaps off a Pedigree for the same. Some hard shots to the face and another to the back of the head put Cody down. That doesn’t seem to matter though as Rollins takes too long to follow up, allowing Cody to snap off back to back Cross Rhodes. That’s not enough for a cover though as it’s a Flip Flop and Fly into the Bionic Elbow. One more Cross Rhodes finishes Rollins at 21:31.

Rating: B+. This was another great match and it felt like it belonged on Wrestlemania. Rhodes had to prove that he could hang with this kind of talent and beating a multiple time World Champion in Rollins is a great choice. Rhodes fought through the rib injury and hung with Rollins every step of the way before finishing him off. They had a heck of a match here and it would kick off an even better feud for the first half of the year.

Cody celebrates for a long time, including his signature kissing of the mat.

We look back at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. I’m still getting used to it being in the ring, but I think I like it better. It still feels wrong to hear the name Mark Calaway on WWE TV though. Undertaker wrapped up his speech by saying “never say never”. At his Q&A session with fans that weekend, he said Vince asked what exactly that meant. Undertaker: “Vince, no. We’re not going there.”

This year’s class is presented:

Steiner Brothers (WAY overdue)
Shad Gaspard (perfect Warrior Award winner)
Queen Sharmell (sure why not)
Vader (again, way overdue)
Undertaker (eh he’s ok)

Undertaker gets the big entrance and comes out to pose, which seems like an excuse for one more Wrestlemania entrance and….well sure, as it’s still one of the coolest things ever in wrestling. Not so cool: the CGI Undertaker, which feels so out of place for something like this. Just let his entrance speak for himself.

We look back at Rick Boogs’ knee injury and see him carried out of the stadium. He officially has a torn quadriceps and a patella injury.

Tonight’s attendance: 77,899.

We recap Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey for Charlotte’s Smackdown Women’s Title. Charlotte is the most successful woman in WWE history. Rousey returned at the Royal Rumble and won the title shot, setting up what is described as a huge showdown after a collision course. Charlotte has also beating Rousey up multiple times on the way here, which should set up a big revenge beating. Charlotte having a title match at Wrestlemania is rather played out at this point. Then again Rousey hasn’t exactly been inspiring since her return so it’s almost a wash.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey

Charlotte is defending. Rousey powers her straight into the corner to start but Charlotte gets in a cheap shot behind the referee to take over. It’s too early for the ankle lock but Charlotte can’t get the Figure Four either. Rousey knees her in the head and grabs a choke with her legs over the rope. Since that can’t last long, Charlotte knees her down and hits a backbreaker on the apron to take over.

A hard posting sets up a right hand/elbow for two on Rousey back inside. Rousey can strike as well and hits a knee to the face, only to get sent face first into the buckle. Charlotte misses a knee though and Rousey snaps off a tornado DDT. With Rousey getting fired up, Charlotte spears her down for two and they both need a second. The moonsault kind of connects to give Charlotte two but Rousey is right back with a suplex.

Charlotte is fine enough to tie her in the Tree of Woe, where she grabs a Boston Crab of all things. You don’t do that to Rousey, who pulls her way up and…gets forearmed right back down. Rousey gets back up and hits a super judo throw for two as frustration is setting in (much like those chops, which have the top of Rousey’s chest VERY banged up). Piper’s Pit connects but it’s too early for the armbar.

Instead Charlotte kicks her in the face as Rousey gets cut off again (and again and again). A slam (kind of a snap hiptoss) gives Rousey two and now the ankle lock can go on. Charlotte reverses that (I’m stunned) into an ankle lock but gets sent into the buckle for the break. The armbar is countered into a powerbomb for two but Rousey is right back with the ankle lock, including a kneebar. Charlotte kicks that off for another break, only to have the Figure Four countered into an armbar.

That’s reversed into the Figure Eight, which is countered as Rousey turns it over. They fight to the apron where Rousey flips her down to the floor, only to charge into a fall away slam into the barricade. Back in and they glare at each other until Rousey snaps off a Piper’s Pit for two, as Charlotte gets a foot on the rope. Rousey yells at the referee enough that Charlotte can grab Natural Selection for two, leaving frustration to set in. Charlotte gets kicked into the referee so there is no one to see Charlotte tap to the armbar. Rousey goes to check on the referee, allowing Charlotte to boot her in the face to retain at 18:24.

Rating: B. It was a rather good and hard hitting match, but is anyone surprised that Charlotte is the first one to pin Rousey in a singles match? This match featured Charlotte taking Rousey out and cutting her off time after time, which isn’t the biggest stretch, but it certainly was deflating. Rousey got in some visible falls, but egads it was hard to take Charlotte winning AGAIN, as Rousey’s momentum (whatever there was of it) is cut off at the knees.

Night Two rundown.

Video on Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar, tomorrow night’s main event.

Wrestlemania XXXIX is in Los Angeles.

We recap Steve Austin being the guest on the Kevin Owens Show. Owens has been insulting Texas for months and he finally invited Austin onto the show. Austin cut a rather fired up promo about how he wrestled his last match nineteen years ago but Owens has lit a fire in him that has been out for a long time. Violence has been all but guaranteed, though no match was officially announced.

Here is Kevin Owens (with yet another awesome KO Mania shirt, this time based on the Ultimate Challenge at Wrestlemania VI) for the Kevin Owens Show (because the glass ceiling can in fact be shattered through hard work). Owens talks about how much he hates Texas but some people have suggested that he apologize. That is in fact what he does….for saying the absolute truth about Texas.

Now the people here much be waiting for him to bring out his guest, but we’re going to wait on that for a bit. Owens doesn’t want to hear about Austin being mad, because he will beat Austin up and drop him with a Stunner. As Owens is ready to insult Texas some more, cue glass shatter and MY GOODNESS the reaction to Austin is on another planet. Austin walks back and forth but then goes through the entrance to get his ATV (ok fair enough).

After a few laps, Austin gets in the ring and wrecks the set, leaving only the two chairs (and Owens). Hold on though as Austin has to get the off the charts hero’s welcome….until Owens tells him to take a seat (giving us a great Austin glare into the camera). They finally sit down and Austin isn’t happy with just wanting to have a conversation. Therefore, Austin insults Owens’ hair so Owens rips on Texas some more. Austin: “You’re about to have 75,000 people calling you an a******.”

Owens has to admit that he has been lying, because he didn’t call Austin out here for a talk. Even though Owens has a bad back, he is here to challenge Austin to a match. Sure it has been 19 years and Austin’s neck, knees and back were shot back then. Actually let’s make it a no holds barred match, which has Austin looking around a bit. There is some great stuff from Austin here, as you can see him thinking about it really hard.

Austin doesn’t say anything so Owens tells him that if he knows he can’t beat him, get his beer and go back to his ranch. That just makes the AUSTIN chants all the louder and he looks around quite a bit. Austin says he wrestled his first match in Dallas, Texas….and he could have his last match right here in Dallas, Texas (the fans like that). As he asks for the H*** YEAH, you can see Austin’s hand shaking….and he wants a referee. I’m not even an Austin fan and I was losing it at the idea that I was actually going to see this live, which is the kind of feeling that you do not get that often in wrestling (or anything for that matter).

Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens

No Holds Barred. They stare each other down to start and Austin wins the slugout and stomps the mudhole (with a brief look to the crowd) in the corner. Austin sends him hard into the corner but let’s stop for some beer. Another mudhole is stomped and Austin sends him over the top to the floor. More beer drinking ensues (and yes it is Austin’s beer) and Austin turns him inside out with a clothesline (you know Owens is going to bump as much as he can here).

Owens manages a posting and right hands but takes too long setting up a table against the barricade. Austin whips him through it instead and NOW you can see the old eyes coming out. They fight into the crowd and Owens suplexes him on the concrete (I never would have bet on Austin taking that big of a bump).

Now it’s Owens being a bit fired up himself and they head back to ringside, where Owens is slammed onto the announcers’ table. More beer is consumed as Austin gets to hammer away on the table (Graves: “If Popeye had his spinach, Austin has his Steveweisers!”). Owens gets in a shot of his own and goes over to the ATV, which he can’t start. That takes too long as Austin is there to hammer away….and they go riding up the ramp.

Austin suplexes him on the stage (Owens’ sell is great) and then takes him to the other side of the stage for a second suplex. We pause for Austin to soak all of his in (yeah fair) before Austin throws him down the ramp. They get inside with Owens hitting a quick Stunner for two before grabbing a chair. The chair hits the top rope and bounces back into Owens’ face, setting up the Stunner to give Austin the pin at 13:58.

Rating: B. Special. That is the word that you could feel throughout this entire thing and my goodness it holds up on another viewing. Whether you are a fan of his or not, there is no way to deny how big of a star Austin was or what he meant to wrestling. Seeing Austin come back after NINETEEN YEARS and have an actual match rather than some two minute segment disguised as a match was amazing. Austin deserves this kind of treatment and I can’t even imagine what this meant to a lifelong fan like Owens. I would absolutely love to see his face when he was told that he would be in this spot, as it would have been incredible.

Oh yeah the match itself. This was a hard hitting fight that felt like a callback to the Attitude Era. That was the only thing they could do, as there was no way to have Austin wrestle a normal match. They beat each other up for the better part of fifteen minutes here and it was a heck of a fight, with Austin looking like an older version of his normal self. This was pretty amazing and my goodness it actually gave me chills.

Post match Austin drinks a lot of beer and throws one to his brother in the crowd. Owens gets another Stunner and is taken out by some Texas police (complete with hats). Austin says it’s great to be back in Dallas and hits the catchphrase. Byron Saxton is called into the ring and gets Stunnered (you can see/hear the utter joy from Corey Graves in a great moment). Austin’s brother gets in the ring for some beer and the big celebration ends the show. After it was over, Austin took some laps in the ATV before leaving for good to end the night.

Overall Rating: A-. This show started off slowly but after the second match, everything took off and it was one awesome match after another. What mattered the most though was it felt like a Wrestlemania, with some great moments like Belair winning the title, Rhodes’ return and the Austin stuff to cap it all off. All in all, this was one of the better Wrestlemanias in a good while and it kept me interested all night. Well done, as WWE continues to know how to make the big shows work.

Ratings Comparison

Usos vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rick Boogs

Original: C
Redo: C

Drew McIntyre vs. Baron Corbin

Original: C
Redo: C-

Miz/Logan Paul vs. Mysterios

Original: C
Redo: B-

Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair

Original: B+
Redo: A-

Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes

Original: B+
Redo: B+

Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte

Original: B-
Redo: B

Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens

Original: B
Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: B+
Redo: A-

It was a very good show to start and it actually improved a year later. Nice job.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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High Rollers
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: FSW Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Bill Alfonso, Frank The Clown, Trevin Adams

This is Coastal Championship Wrestling (Florida), a sister promotion of Boca Raton Championship Wrestling. I watched the latter earlier in the day and it left a bit to be desired so we’ll have to see if the sibling can do much better. I have no idea what to expect here as I’m coming in blind so let’s get to it.

A host welcomes us to the show and hopes we have a good time. Nice way to go for a promotion a lot of fans won’t know.

We go to meet commentary (including Adams, the host from a few moments ago) and cut to the first match.

Beastman vs. Crush

Beastman is a cross between singles Barbarian and…well like two of them as he’s a rather big guy (probably pushing 400lbs). Crush (not that one, as he’s been dead for almost twenty years) is absolutely jacked with a great physique. Beastman goes right at him to get start but gets knocked into the corner for some right hands. Crush can’t slam him so Beastman grabs a belly to belly for two.

A running crossbody to the back hits Crush in the ropes and we hit the chinlock. Crush is back up with an enziguri, only to get hit with a Thesz press from behind (that’s a new one). Another chinlock doesn’t last long as Crush manages a spinebuster for quite the crash. A top rope elbow hits Beastman for two and there’s a suicide dive. Back in and Beastman knocks Crush off the top, setting up a Banzai Drop for the pin at 7:13.

Rating: C. Crush had a great look and will probably get a chance to do something based on that alone. Beastman is just a huge guy who didn’t do much outside of standard big man stuff. That’s not a bad thing as it’s something that has been done forever in wrestling, but this only had so much to offer as even someone as muscular as Crush can’t do much against a monster like that.

Sam Holloway vs. Jai Vidal

Holloway is a WWE ID prospect and a rather tall guy. Vidal (with his broken ribs) does his entrance twice to get double the cheering. We get the old school weapons check, with Vidal making sure to check Holloway’s leg. Holloway powers him into the corner to start but gets knocked out to the floor. Vidal is dropped onto the barricade for a heck of a chop, followed by an elbow for two back inside.

Some more chops set up a chinlock but Vidal is right back up, only to get caught in a swinging Rock Bottom. Holloway gets smart by going after the ribs but Vidal flips out of a belly to back suplex. A jumping kick to the head sends Holloway outside and there’s a dive to hit him as well. Back in and Vidal manages a sunset bomb for two but Holloway is back with a sitout chokeslam for the pin at 7:00.

Rating: C+. They didn’t do anything overly unique here as it was a pretty standard David vs. Goliath story, though in this case Goliath took advantage of the bad ribs to beat him. It’s another case of the monster villain winning, though it was hard to imagine someone signed to a WWE deal losing here. Holloway isn’t bad but he isn’t quite there yet. With that size though, he’ll certainly get the chance.

Danny Everbourne vs. Justin Andrews vs. Kuro vs. Marcus DeAngelo vs. Dillon McQueen vs. Rhys Maddox vs. Romeo Quevedo vs. Shreddy vs. Tyler Shoop

This was originally a six man scramble but let’s make it nine instead. DeAngelo apparently hosts a podcast with Ted DiBiase and broke his hand, so he has THE BLACK GLOVE from Mid-South. Well he’s suddenly more awesome. The bell rings and everyone surrounds DeAngelo, who is promptly beaten up by everyone else to send him outside. So much for the power of the glove.

Kuro teases a dive but gets clotheslined down as things into the expected mess. Shoop pulls Maverick McQueen (Dillon’s husband/cousin, which is apparently a thing) into a dive and Dillon isn’t happy but they both get clotheslined down. Quevedo hits a rolling cutter on Andrews and it’s off to Kuro vs. Everbourne. The latter hits a powerslam but Maddox is back in with a spear. McQueen clotheslines Shoop outside and crossfaces DeAngelo for the tap at 6:07.

Rating: C+. What do you want me to say? There were nine people flying around the ring and ringside for about six minutes. It’s not like they had a chance to showcase themselves at all, with the entrances being the most chance they had to stand out. I get the idea of wanting to have as many people on the show as possible, but this really didn’t work.

Post match Shoop and McQueen brawl some more.

Stallion Rogers vs. LJ Cleary

The fans certainly seem to like Cleary, who slides around Stallion to start and gives him a springboard armdrag. That earns Cleary a basement dropkick to slow things way back down and sets up a big chop to Cleary in the corner. Stallion drops a knee for two but Cleary is back up with some rapid fire chops in the corner. Back up and Cleary hammers away, setting up a springboard double stomp to the back of the neck.

The Liontamer is broken up and Stallion Air Raid Crashes him onto a knee. Back up and Cleary hits a springboard Canadian Destroyer for two and can’t believe the kickout. Now the Boston crab goes on but Stallion makes the rope. A running headbutt knocks Cleary silly and a…pumphandle/package piledriver (that’s a bit complicated) finishes for Stallion at 6:34.

Rating: B-. They kept things going here and it felt like a match between two people who wanted to take each other out. Cleary had the fast paced offense that makes for some entertaining matches and it’s easy to see why he’s been around on various bigger shows. At the same time, Stallion being a former WWE star isn’t surprising either, as he certainly has some talent. Nice match here, and it was nicer after the insanity of the previous outing.

Women’s Title: Kristin Blaze vs. J-Rod

Blaze is defending, J-Rod is going to be on the new American Gladiators and they’re both in outstanding shape. J-Rod takes her down with a headlock takeover and Blaze goes after the hair to limited effect. Back up and Blaze hits a dropkick before dropping a knee to keep J-Rod in trouble.

They strike it out and Blaze knees her in the ribs to set up a chinlock. A Backstabber gives Blaze two but J-Rod is back with a release German suplex. J-Rod powerbombs her down and adds a suplex but Blaze shoves the referee into the ropes. This isn’t a DQ for whatever reason so Blaze hits her split legged moonsault to retain at 7:38.

Rating: C+. This was power vs. power despite neither of them being the biggest physically. What they are though is completely made of muscle, which certainly makes them both stand out. They both need a lot more experience and polish (which is fine), but they are at least off to good starts.

Matt Riddle vs. Ben Bishop

Bishop is just shy of 7 feet and shoves Riddle down to start. Riddle gets knocked down again and then has to jump to try a test of strength. With that not working, Riddle tries a choke in the ropes but charges into a side slam. Riddle fights out of a chinlock and kicks away at the chest, only to get choked back down.

Bishop throws him into the corner a few times and fires him out with a fall away slam. Back up and Riddle hits a quick Floating Bro for two but the RKO is blocked. A not so great looking chokeslam puts Riddle down again and he has to get a foot on the rope. Some choking out of the corner staggers Bishop for a change and a middle rope cutter gives Riddle the pin at 9:37.

Rating: C. This was basically Riddle trying to find a way around the monster’s size and power, which is a good story to tell. Unfortunately it wasn’t exactly an exciting match, with Bishop doing some very generic power stuff. I more than get the idea of wanting to present someone his size, but he needs to add some spark to his matches. Riddle was…well you know what Riddle is by now.

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Izzi Moreno vs. Sammi Chaos

Chaos gets the wrong music and doesn’t seem happy. Some double teaming knocking her to the floor makes it worse so Moreno trips Blackheart down and hits a basement dropkick. Blackheart is back up with a high crossbody but Chaos is back in with a crossbody of her own. Chaos hits some running splashes to Blackheart but gets choked by Moreno, who is crushed in the corner.

Moreno is back up to headscissor Chaos into Blackheart for two before Chaos is put down. Some clotheslines put Blackheart down but she sends the other two outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Moreno tries a sunset flip but Chaos sits onto her, with Blackheart’s save not being enough to break up the pin at 8:07.

Rating: C. This was about trying to keep the monster Chaos down and that only worked for so long. Blackheart was easily the best in there and that’s hardly a surprise as she was already something in WWE. Moreno is clearly still learning and getting experience, but she’s off to a decent start.

Cha Cha Charlie vs. Josh Bishop

Charlie charges at Bishop to start and gets sent flying with a fall away slam. A regular slam gives Bishop two and he shoves Charlie around a bit. The delayed vertical suplex gets the delayed cover for two but Charlie fights back with some kicks to the chest. A cha cha elbow gets two but Bishop is right back up with a spinning Boss Man Slam. Bishop tries a Razor’s Edge, which is reversed into a not so smooth sunset flip to give Charlie the pin at 5:47.

Rating: C-. I get that Charlie is supposed to be less of a serious star but I’ve seen him twice today and I really don’t get the appeal. Thankfully he didn’t dance a lot, which was the first thing I was expecting when I heard his name. Bishop has a nice look and feels like he should be a good heel, maybe in the old school style, but it wasn’t really clicking here.

Post match Sam Holloway runs in for the beatdown on Charlie but Jai Vidal makes the save. Dancing ensues.

CCW Heavyweight Title: Gangrel vs. Jimmy Lloyd

Gangrel is defending and tries to get the fans behind him to start. Some early right hands have Lloyd in trouble and out on the floor Gangrel rams him into various things. Back in and the Impaler is broken up so Lloyd can hammer away, followed by a hair takedown. Lloyd drops an apron legdrop for two and we hit the chinlock. Gangrel fights up and grabs a Russian legsweep but Lloyd hits an elbow to the face. The moonsault misses though and Gangrel hits the Impaler for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: C-. I get the idea of Gangrel being in here due to his name value, but there is only so much to get out of him in the ring. The Impaler is good, but outside of that it’s just a bunch of basic offense that doesn’t add up to much. Lloyd was fine enough as a challenger as he’s a name on the indies, but this was pretty flat as a main event.

Overall Rating: C. There were some nice parts to this and some of the matches were entertaining, but the last few kind of staggered across the finish line. The show didn’t have anything that really made it stand out and the star power that it had didn’t really boost it up that much. It’s not a terrible show, but it’s rather basic with nothing that you would need to see.

Results
Beastman b. Crush – Banzai Drop
Sam Holloway b. Jai Vidal – Sitout chokeslam
Dillon McQueen b. Danny Everbourne, Justin Andres, Kuro, Marcus DeAngelo, Rhys Maddox, Romeo Quevedo, Shreddy, Tyler Shoop – Crossface to DeAngelo
Stallion Rogers b. LJ Cleary – Pumphandle package piledriver
Kristin Blaze b. J-Rod – Split legged moonsault
Matt Riddle b. Ben Bishop – Middle rope cutter
Nikki Cross b. Shotzi Blackheart and Izzi Moreno – Sitdown splash to Moreno
Cha Cha Charlie b. Josh Bishop – Sunset flip
Gangrel b. Jimmy Lloyd – Impaler

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Dynamite
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: Angel Of The Winds Arena, Everett, Washington
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Bryan Danielson

It’s the first show after Dynasty, which was another good pay per view that ended with MJF retaining the World Title over Kenny Omega. That is the kind of ending that would leave you wondering where the title picture is going next, but this isn’t the most common situation. In this case we have Darby Allin coming after the title after beating Andrade El Idolo on Sunday. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynasty if you need a recap.

MJF arrives and ignores Renee Paquette but talks to Don Callis. After an exchange of pleasantries and praise, MJF says Andrade will never be title material because he screwed up. Renee finally yells at MJF to get his attention: Allin wants his title match TONIGHT and it’s RIGHT NOW. MJF: “WHAT THE F***???”

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Darby Allin

MJF is defending but hang on because he says this isn’t happening and threatens to sue everyone from Allin to that pervert Justin Roberts. MJF says that Allin is talented but not that good so…and Allin cuts him off. Allin says you only need one night to turn the wrestling world on its head.

He’s crying as he talks about how he hung posters for this show. He worked so hard to get here and climbed Mount Everest and now he wants the World Title. RING THE BELL! Actually hang on as Bryan Danielson grabs the mic and says Tony Khan agrees that it isn’t fair for MJF to defend the title on no notice. So he can defend it against Allin….in tonight’s main event or be stripped of the title. MJF is ticked and Allin is thrilled. No match here.

After Dynasty, Kenny Omega didn’t have much to say but ran into Will Ospreay in the trainer’s room. Omega doesn’t think he has much time left but Ospreay has the heart of a wrestler and years to go. Ospreay wants the World Title and thinks Omega can do it too. He calls Omega his hero and leaves. The hero bit gets to Omega, who thinks he might still have a chance and asks for the cameras to be cut. This was good stuff, as Omega being the legend who isn’t sure if he has it anymore and Ospreay as the current version of what Omega used to be is interesting.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Dezmond Xavier

Ciampa stomps away to start fast and sends him into the barricade. Xavier flips over the steps and sticks the landing, followed by a dropkick back inside. Ciampa is ready for the dive and it’s a staredown as we take a break. We come back with Ciampa grabbing a chinlock and throwing up the bicep.

Xavier fights up and strikes away, setting up a middle rope tornado DDT for two. The 450 misses though and Ciampa hits a discus forearm, only to get knocked out to the floor. Xavier hits a dive and now the 450 connects for two. Ciampa knees a springboard out of the air though and Project Ciampa connects. The running knee finishes Xavier at 9:38.

Rating: B-. Ciampa continues to do his thing and should be moving up to the next level at some point. They had a good, fast paced match as Ciampa cut off the high flying and won in the end. I’m not sure where Ciampa is going, but he’s done well with everything he’s done around here thus far. Just find something bigger for him to do.

Post match Ciampa says he wants it all. As in the World Title. Well that’s bigger. Ciampa gets in a cheap shot on Xavier before leaving.

Video on MJF vs. Darby Allin, including MJF beating him with an armdrag takeover.

Here is FTR, with Stokely, for a chat. Harwood talks about how the fans are losers, just like Adam Copeland and Christian Cage when they lost at Dynasty. Stokely talks about all of the teams FTR has beaten and Wheeler wants a moment of silence for Copeland and Cage. We go old school with a ten second pose from FTR to wrap it up.

TNT Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kevin Knight

Knight is defending after winning the title on Dynasty. Some early rollups give Knight two and he dropkicks Castagnoli out to the floor. Castagnoli is back up with an uppercut and a hard slam, followed by the neck crank. That’s broken up and Knight sends him outside for a dive as we take an early break.

We come back with Castagnoli missing an elbow and getting rolled up for two. A top rope clothesline hits Castagnoli and Knight grabs a slam of his own. Castagnoli is sent outside for a big running flip dive and they head right back inside. The super hurricanrana is blocked, as is the super Neutralizer (because that might hurt a lot).

Knight tries a super DDT, which is countered into…something close to a pop up uppercut (it didn’t seem to make contact but fair enough as that was a pretty complicated spot). Knight is back up and springboards into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, meaning it’s time to go Swinging. A catapult sends Knight into the corner but he bounces back with a spinning clothesline. The UFO Splash retains the title at 9:44.

Rating: B. I could go for more of Knight as he’s getting better and more confident in the ring almost every day. That’s a great thing to see as Knight has all kinds of talent and it works to have him in the ring like this. At the same time, Castagnoli is someone who is at his best when he is making someone else look good and beating him clean still feels like a pretty big deal. Nice match.

Post match Knight praises Castagnoli and says he’s not mad at Mike Bailey about losing the Trios Titles. This is moving through another door and he’s ready to go.

Video on Ricochet beating Chris Jericho at Dynasty.

Here is Jericho for a chat. Jericho soaks in some cheering before saying he might have lost at Dynasty because he was down 3-1. Cue the Demand, with Ricochet saying he had the chance to win on Sunday by using what is now the Ricosault. Now Jericho should just leave for good as we’ve seen everything he has.

Jericho thinks Ricosault is a brutal name and keeps calling out Ricochet for being bald while issuing the challenge to come down here one on one. Ricochet gets in the ring and Jericho beats him up, only for the Gates Of Agony to come in and drop Jericho without much trouble. Ricochet even adds a Ricosault. So who does Jericho get to help him?

At Dynasty, Konosuke Takeshita mocked Kazuchika Okada after their loss, which Takeshita intentionally caused.

Will Ospreay vs. Hechicero

Hechicero’s CMLL World Title isn’t on the line. Hechicero takes him down by the arm to start before going after Ospreay’s taped up neck. A headscissors is broken up but Ospreay’s neck is in trouble. Ospreay is able to hit a running hurricanrana into a slingshot dive and we take an early break.

We come back with Hechicero hitting his swinging hammerlock backbreaker. Hechicero spins the neck around and Ospreay has to bail out to the floor. Back in and Hechicero grabs the surfboard but Ospreay escapes for a handspring kick to the head. Hechicero gets up and takes his straps down, allowing Ospreay to fire off some chops. The Hidden Blade is countered into a headscissor driver and we take another break as the medics look at Ospreay’s neck.

We come back again with Hechicero choking on the apron and then knocking him out to the floor. A top rope elbow to the back of the neck gives Hechicero two but Ospreay hits a Stundog Millionaire. Ospreay kicks him in the head but the Oscutter is blocked. Hechicero tries the cross armbreaker so Ospreay stands up and reversed into the Styles Clash (that was slick). The Hidden Blade finishes Hechicero at 17:56.

Rating: A-. You know what this was? An awesome comic book miniseries. Hechicero wasn’t going to beat a star like Ospreay but the superhero fought back against the lesser known villain and beat him after an entertaining fight before moving on to the bigger issues. You could see Ospreay trying to find a way around Hechicero’s skills and hit his big shot, which is exactly what happened in the end. Awesome match here and I got way into this.

Post match Mark Davis runs in to take out Ospreay and gives him a piledriver.

After being attacked by Kamille at Dynasty, Willow Nightingale says she’s ready to take Kamille out on Dynamite.

Renee Paquette is here to talk to…someone but Thekla interrupts. She says the Toxic Spider is in the house and brags about beating Jamie Hayter. Cue Alex Windsor who wants a fight of her own and calls out Thekla for getting fired from Japan. Thekla: “I did not get fired from Japan! Ok I did get fired from Japan!”

Japan couldn’t handle her, just like Windsor can’t do it. The challenge is on and here are the Sisters Of Sin, who are taken out just as fast. Thekla is one of the best, or certainly most entertaining, on the mic in the company, with her firing line being hilarious. Even if she just slipped up, she rolled with it and it worked fine.

Jon Moxley, with the Death Riders, doesn’t feel bad about going after Will Ospreay’s neck to beat him at Dynasty. He’ll be facing Nick Wayne on Collision and doesn’t know much about him, so hopefully Wayne has a surprise.

TBS Title: Willow Nightingale vs. Kamille

Nightingale is defending and strikes away to start fast. Kamille is back to work on the bad arm and twists it down as we take an early break. We come back with Nightingale sending her into the corner for the Cannonball. A running X Factor and Rough Ryder give Kamille two so she tries a cross armbreaker. Nightingale stacks her up for two and sends Kamille into the corner. A backslide retains the title at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Well that came out of nowhere. I’m not sure what the point was in having Kamille come back to win a squash at Dynasty and then lose in a title match three days later. I like Nightingale getting this kind of a win, but this felt like it was rushed through at the last minute rather than at the beginning, which is basically the case coming straight off of a pay per view.

Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander are ready to win at Collision. Well Shida is at least, as Statlander can’t get a word in edgewise.

Darby Allin is asked about the main event….and Sting shows up. Allin says it’s showtime, but Sting says it’s YOUR time. Allin has to win here right? Like….he has to right?

AEW World Title: Darby Allin vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Allin is challenging and after the Big Match Intros, MJF backs away and asks for time. MJF gives the ring to the referee and uses the distraction to kick Allin low. Allin shoves MJF away though and the referee ducks, allowing Allin to hit a low blow of his own. The Scorpion Death Drop sets up four straight Coffin Drops….and Allin grabs a headlock takeover for the pin and the title at 2:15.

The locker room comes out to celebrate with Allin and even Grandpa Sting shows up for the big feel good moment.

Whoo boy. Ok then. I’m not a big Allin fan, but this couldn’t have gone much better. Allin is someone who has felt ready to move up to the title picture more than once and they threw a curve ball by having him do it this way. They had the very nice touch thrown in of MJF cheating first so Allin’s low blow was evening the score instead of cheating as well.

The headlock takeover was great as well and the whole thing went so fast that you were left wondering if it would actually happen. Normally I would say “save it for the PPV”, but I like the change of pace here with the out of absolutely nowhere ending. It is absolutely not something you can do very often, but if you nail it like this, it’s ok if done very infrequently. Great moment.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah this went pretty great, with the outstanding shock title change unfortunately overshadowing an incredible Ospreay vs. Hechicero match. There wasn’t much else worth seeing on the show, but I’m thinking a 1-2 punch like they had here was more than enough. I’m not sure I’d call this a big reset, but it was a huge moment in the end and that went about as perfectly as possible. Awesome show here, though I have no idea where things are going from here (which isn’t a bad thing).

Results
Tommaso Ciampa b. Dezmond Xavier – Running knee
Kevin Knight b. Claudio Castagnoli – UFO Splash
Will Ospreay b. Hechicero – Hidden Blade
Willow Nightingale b. Kamille – Backslide
Darby Allin b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Headlock takeover

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Podermania 2026
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Veda Scott, Val Capone

I’ve seen this show on the Wrestlemania schedule year after year and it’s time to give it a shot. As usual I have no idea what to expect from the show but apparently it is a self-described “mostly” female wrestling company. That could mean quite the good results given the available talent so let’s get to it.

There’s an anime opening video and I have no idea if this sword fight has anything to do with the show.

Su Yung/Leva Bates vs. Joseline Navarro/Mazzerati

Yung and Bates are Team Demonslayer. Mazzerati poses at Bates to start so it’s off to Yung, who scares Mazzerati off to Navarro. Bates comes right back in and goes after Navarro’s leg so we’ll try Yung again. Some double teaming has Yung in trouble and Mazzerati gives her a spinning middle rope crossbody.

Bates comes in for the save and Yung (described as the Demon, despite being on Team DEMONSLAYER) has the big staredown with Navarro. Yung gets knocked down but Bated tagged herself in and gets kicked in the face for two. Yung’s Arachnarana (cool name) send Navarro into the corner and it’s the Panic Switch (Samoan driver) into a basement superkick to pin Mazzerati at 8:41.

Rating: C+. Good enough opener here with a nice, fast paced tag match. That’s often a smart way to start things off and while the pairings felt a bit random, it wound up working well enough. I didn’t know much about the women (I’ve seen them all before but that’s about it) but they got me into the match and I’ll call that a win.

Post match Tara Zep (another odd looking woman) runs in to beat on Mazzerati before leaving with Yung.

The ring announcer thanks various people for making the show possible.

Amira/Lil Marz vs. Jazzy Yang/Toga

Amira works on Toga’s arm to start with Toga reversing into a headlock. A running shoulder gives Toga one and Amira is back up with a dropkick. Marz comes in for a running basement elbow in the corner but it’s quickly off to Yang. Amira elbows her down and grabs a suplex, followed by a running clothesline in the corner.

Marz’s suplex gets two and a Cannonball in the corner gets two. Yang finally gets up for a crossbody though and it’s back to Toga for a heck of a forearm to Amira. Everything breaks down and Yang fires off some superkicks before going outside with Amira. That leaves Toga to hit a kind of Rock Bottom to pin Marz at 8:47.

Rating: B-. This match was similar to the opener but in this case I had no idea who anyone was and they pulled me into it again. It was a good enough showing between what felt like (again, not sure if they are) a match between two makeshift teams and that’s hard to do. I liked this well enough and Marz and Amira could be worth following going forward.

Some weapons are brought in, which can’t go well.

Nixi XS vs. Shazza McKenzie

This is a street fight. They sit down at a table…and start to play poker. Even the referee is playing (and dealing, while partially dressed like Elvis) and I’m more curious about the brand of card they have (my collection continues to grow). The fight breaks out and they go outside to find a fringe covered kendo stick. Nixi (who is apparently an evil bride) finds her own (non-fringed) kendo stick and hammers away but gets sent back inside. McKenzie finds a chair…and Blair Onyx (feuding with McKenzie) is attached to it.

The distraction lets Nixi fights back and cut McKenzie’s mouth with a card before pouring liquid into the cut. The bag of rhinestones are poured out and McKenzie is sent face first into them for a near fall. Nixi pulls out…what looks to be some powder, which McKenzie grabs and puts near her nose, triggering an energized comeback (I’m going to assume it was Hulk Hogan Python Powder and move on). Onyx gets on the apron though and the distraction lets Nixi hit McKenzie in the head with a bottle. A tornado DDT finishes McKenzie at 6:45.

Rating: B-. This was certainly a change of pace from the first two matches and, possible cocaine inspired comeback aside, I liked it well enough. I’ve seen McKenzie over the years and she always seems to put in a lot of effort. Nixi has popped up in AEW/ROH a few times but it wasn’t quite like this, which granted wouldn’t make sense when she’s out there as a jobber.

Gypsy Mac vs. Brittnie Brooks vs. Izzy Moreno

Mac grabs a rollup to start and Moreno sends her outside. Brooks takes Moreno down and drops Mac on the floor before throwing her back inside. Moreno is knocked to the floor again and it’s a running hip attack to give Brooks two. Brooks gives Mac a faceplant but gets tripped down by Moreno, who comes back inside. Mac hip checks Brooks in the corner but gets Falcon Arrowed by Moreno for two.

Moreno northern lights suplexes Mac but Brooks’ slingshot save doesn’t work, leaving Mac to kick out on her own. Mac is back up with a spear to Brooks, who manages a wheelbarrow bulldog. Moreno grabs a DDT but gets dropped by Mac. Brooks offers a distraction so Moreno can slam Mac off the top. Brooks comes back in to plant Mac for two but Moreno sends Brooks outside and steals the pin at 8:17.

Rating: C+. Brooks continues to feel like a star in the making (as she did last year) but Moreno continues to be the interesting aspect. She’s by no means ready for it yet, but can you imagine if she managed to get to WWE for a run with Bayley? It would be one of the coolest super long term stories in wrestling and dang it’s somehow a possibility.

Post match Moreno thanks the fans for helping her get better.

Kaia McKenna vs. Allie Katch

McKenna is rather tall. They fight over a test of strength to start with neither getting very far so McKenna knees her in the ribs. A suplex gives McKenna two but Katch is back with a Pele kick. Katch whips her hard into the corner for two and it’s a hip attack into the Cannonball for two. McKenna belly to back suplexes her for the same but Katch is right back with a quick piledriver for the pin out of nowhere at 8:01.

Rating: C+. Katch continues to feel like one of the more polished independent women in the industry and she was doing well here again. She seems to be more of a permanent star on the indy circuit rather than doing anything in a big company. At the same time, McKenna had an interesting look and I could go for seeing her again.

Journey Burke/Sirena Veil/Valentina Rossi vs. Dani Mo/Emily Jaye/Rachel Ley

Jaye and Rossi (who is now Gianna Capri in Evolve) start things off with Jaye slapping her in the face, setting up a running faceplant. It’s off to Ley for a handspring elbow in the corner to Burke. A neckbreaker cuts Ley off for two but she kicks Journey in the face, allowing the double tag to Mo and Veil.

Mo gets knocked down rather quickly and a Vader Bomb elbow gives Veil two as the other four are in a chase around ringside. Mo is right back up to strike away and a Code Red gets two on Burke. Everything breaks down and Burke gives Ley an Air Raid Crash. Mo’s Michinoku Driver drops Burke for two and Veil gets planted with a double chokeslam. Ley’s 450 is good for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: B-. They had a tough task with getting everyone a chance to shine with so many people involved. It wound up working out pretty well though, with the winners feeling like interesting prospects. Rossi is already more than a prospect and the other two were far from bad. Nice job here, even with a bunch of less than familiar (not a bad thing as it applies to everyone at some point) names.

Alex Gracia vs. Aleah James

They fight over a lockup to start with Gracia using the hair to pull her into the corner. James spins out of a wristlock and kicks Gracia into the corner. Gracia trips her down though and gets in some rams to the apron but the referee catches the feet on the ropes. Back in and Gracia’s belly to back suplex gets two but James breaks out of the double arm crank. James strikes away and grabs a fisherman’s suplex for two, only for Gracia to go for the eyes. A knee lift and headplant put James away at 5:05.

Rating: C. This didn’t have a ton of time to go anywhere but Gracia, who has been on some bigger shows before, was a solid hand out there. James was fine enough on her own, but there is only so much you can do in so little time. Maybe they’re running long or something, because this barely felt like it was getting started.

Poder Title: Brittany Blake vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Blackheart is challenging. They go to the mat to start with Blake getting two off a quick jackknife rollup. Back up and Blackheart gets the better of a test of strength before hitting a quick dropkick. Blake snaps off some armdrags before sending Blackheart out to the floor. They slug it out on the apron with Blake getting the better of things and hitting a suicide dive. Back in and Blackheart suplexes her into the corner for two, followed by a Boston crab.

Brooks makes the rope rather quickly and sends Blackheart into the corner for two. Blackheart tries a superplex but Blake blocks that and manages to reverse into a powerbomb. A hard knee sends Blackheart out to the floor…and now we both have kendo sticks. Blackheart gets the better of a strike off and puts her in a chair for a running knee. The top rope backsplash hits raised knees back inside though and a Texas Cloverleaf Gangsta’s Paradise finishes Blackheart at 10:55.

Rating: B-. Blackheart is a star and on a roll in the independent scene as of late and it’s good to see her getting a high profile spot on a show like this. She has a lot of matches scheduled this weekend and there is a good chance she’ll be in something pretty big over the next few days. Blake has been champion for going on two years though and certainly got to show off a bit here. Nice match and it did feel more important.

Post match Blake says…I’m not sure as the audio isn’t great.

Carolina Cruz vs. Miranda Alize

Alize’s headlock takeover starts things off but Cruz is back up with a running shoulder. After a quick dance, Cruz snaps off some armdrags but Alize pulls her down out of the corner. The double arm crank goes on for a few moments before Alize switches to hammering away in the corner. Cruz fights back with a Stunner to start the clothesline comeback, followed by a dropkick. A sliding clothesline gives Cruz two but Alize slaps on a crossface. With that broken up, Cruz grabs a jumping Downward Spiral for two but Alize is back with a Shining Wizard for the pin at 6:40.

Rating: C+. It was good while it lasted, but it just didn’t last long. That’s kind of a problem as you can only just so much into a match so short. I’ve seen both of them before and they’re both talented, but there was only so much to get out of a match that was going up against this kind of limitations.

Ladies Night Out Title: Alexandra Le Leona vs. Jazmin Allure

Allure is defending. Leona takes her down by the arm to start and they trade legsweeps for two each. That means we’re off to an early standoff until Leona rolls some suplexes. A 619 misses and Allure is right back with a neckbreaker. Leona’s reverse Sling Blade drops Allure again though and now the 619 connects. The springboard splash gives Leona two and an Angel’s Wings connects for the same. Allure hits the ropes and grabs Tatum Paxley’s Cemetery Drive to retain at 4:34.

Rating: C. Are they just really short on time or something? The previous match didn’t get much time and this match, a title match, was about a third shorter. I’m not sure what’s going on with that but they could only do much here. Allure is good at what she does and Leona is good at doing a lot of Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio stuff.

Charli Evans vs. Billie Starkz

Starkz doesn’t seem serious about a handshake to start so they clothesline each other down less than a minute in. An exchange of German suplexes are both shrugged off so Starkz brainbusters her onto the knee. Evans catches her on top and hits a Death Valley Driver for two, followed by a sliding kick to the head for the same. They slug it out with Evans raining down right hands in the corner, only for Starkz to ram her into the buckle. Evans tries a victory roll but Starkz reverses into a cradle of her own for the pin at 4:28.

Rating: C. Yeah they must be running long here as there is no reason for your main event to run about four and a half minutes with pretty much nothing going on. They started fast and just blitzed through everything, which isn’t the greatest way to go. This could have wound up being a good match, but I need a good bit more than what they had here.

Post match Evans chases Starkz to the back to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I love the idea of a show like this where the incredibly talented women are given the chance to showcase themselves. At the same time though, everything after Blackheart vs. Blake felt like a dark match where the wrestlers were hoping to beat the traffic. There was good action here, but they would have been better off cutting a match or two and letting some of the latter stuff breathe.

Results
Su Yung/Leva Bates b. Joseline Navarro/Mazzerati – Basement superkick to Mazzerati
Togo/Jazzy Yang b. Amira/Lil Marz – Rock Bottom to Marz
Nixi XS b. Shazza McKenzie – Tornado DDT
Izzi Moreno b. Gypsy Mac and Brittnie Brooks – Nightmare On Helm Street to Mac
Allie Katch b. Kaia McKenna – Piledriver
Dani Mo/Emily Jaye/Rachel Ley b. Journey Burke/Sirena Veil/Valentina Rossi – 450 to Veil
Alex Gracia b. Aleah James – Headplant
Brittany Blake b. Shotzi Blackheart – Arm trap Texas Cloverleaf
Miranda Alize b. Carolina Cruz – Shining Wizard
Jazmin Allure b. Alexandra Le Leona – Cemetery Drive

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Evolve
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Blake Howard, Peter Rosenburg

It’s Wrestlemania Week and in this case that means we have a special show around here as well. The big story is the Gauntlet Eliminator match for the vacant Women’s Title. That should be enough to carry the show and there is a good chance that it eats up most of the show. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Karmen Petrovic runs down the list of competitors in the Gauntlet Eliminator, which she is apparently in too. They treated it as something of a surprise and…Petrovic isn’t the biggest shock.

Opening sequence.

Here is Aaron Rourke to get things going. He talks about how he is getting used to being champion and doesn’t want anyone thinking that he’s not working as hard as he can. Rourke doesn’t like Harlem Lewis saying Rourke is ducking him so come say it to his face. Cue Lewis, who says he won’t get in the ring and beat him down because it just keeps him from getting what he wants. Rourke says they can do it for the title right now but here is Braxton Cole to interrupt. Cole says he should be the one getting the title shot and Rourke is fine with a triple threat. Lewis isn’t happy with that and Cole jumps both of them to stand tall.

Tristan Angels talks about growing up on a goat farm and then getting into beauty pageants. He’s ready to be amazing here.

Lince Dorado/Mike Cunningham vs. Santi Rivera/Jacari Ball

Hold on though as Cunningham has changed his name to Max Abrams. Yeah that’s a good move, as Mike Cunningham isn’t getting him anywhere. It’s Gal is here with Rivera and Ball. Dorado kicks at Rivera to start but Rivera takes him down, much to Gal’s happiness. Ball comes in but the double team is broken up, allowing Abrams to come in and grab the armbar. Abrams gets taken into the wrong corner so the villains can take turns striking away.

That’s broken up and it’s back to Dorado, who gets to clean house. Abrams even puts on the sunglasses and holds the ropes open so Dorado can hit a heck of a suicide dive. Back in and Dorado’s moonsault hits raised boots, allowing Rivera to grab a Sling Blade for two. Abrams makes a save so Dorado goes up, with Abrams tagging himself in, knocking Dorado off the top anyway. Apparently Abrams’ tag doesn’t count though (need both feet on the mat) and it’s Rivera getting a rollup for the pin at 9:00.

Rating: C+. This worked well enough as you would expect the goofy heels to lose so It’s Gal would have another thing to complain about. At the same time, you have Abrams (thank goodness for the name change) screwing up and costing Dorado the match. This was a nice enough surprise, as we continue the slow build towards Tag Team Titles.

Dorian Van Dux vs. Kai Kavari

Kai speeds around and slugs away to start, which staggers the bigger Dux. That earns Kai a shot to the face and a spinning gutwrench powerbomb. A shooting star press finishes Kavari at 1:41. Well that worked.

Brooks Jensen isn’t sure what Cappuccino Jones was trying to prove last week so he wants a bullrope match.

Women’s Title: Gauntlet Eliminator

For the vacant title and it’s basically a Royal Rumble/Gauntlet match with two minute intervals, eight participants and pin/submission/DQ for eliminations. Laynie Luck is in at #1 and Karmen Petrovic is in at #2. Luck takes her down by the leg to start before they run the ropes for a standoff. They trade rollups for two each and knock each other down as Kali Armstrong is in at #3 (with commentary getting in an important line of the clock not starting until she is in the ring).

We take a break and come back with Armstrong cleaning house until some double teaming slows her down. A double cover only gets two as Armstrong nips up. With Petrovic and Luck knocked down, Wendy Choo is in at #4. Choo whips Luck into Armstrong in the corner and hits a high crossbody on the latter. Petrovic is back up with a superkick for two on Choo and everyone is staggered as Tyra Mae Steele is in at #5. Steele gets to clean some house but picks Armstrong up for some reason, earning a shove away. The Kali Connection gets rid of Petrovic at 7:45.

Luck kicks Steele down but Armstrong is back up to go after both of them. Sloane Jacobs is in at #6 and sends Steele face first into the corner. Jacobs teases working with Luck and then rolls her up for the pin at 10:08. Armstrong isn’t having this and Kali Connections Jacobs for the pin at 10:40. Choo gets back in and Dirt Naps Steele, only for Armstrong to make the save. Nikkita Lyons is in at #7 and suplexes Steele before pulling Lyons in the way of the Kali Connection. Lyons drops Armstrong and a spinning kick to the face gets rid of Steele at 12:31.

They go to the corner for a Tower Of Doom and everyone is down as PJ Vasa completes the field at #8. Choo gets crushed in the corner and Vasa suplexes Choo and Lyons. Armstrong puts Vasa down and tries the Kali Connection, only for Steele to pop up for a distraction. Lyons kicks Armstrong in the face for the pin at 15:51. Lyons tiger bombs Choo for two but can’t do the same to Vasa. The Dirt Nap is broken up and Vasa Samoan drops Choo but misses a splash. Choo hits a DDT and Lyons’ splits splash gets rid of Vasa at 18:14.

We’re down to Choo vs. Lyons for the title with Lyons getting two off a Michinoku Driver. Choo hits a full nelson slam but Lyons drops her, setting up the Vader Bomb for two. The Dirt Nap goes on but Lyons flips out, only for Choo to grab a hurricanrana for the pin and the title at 21:05.

Rating: B-. First and foremost, having this be elimination rules makes it SO much better. Ultimately, Choo survived and got a pin over the only remaining competitor to win. It’s better than having her win off a fluke pin and makes her feel like a winner. I’ll absolutely take this version of Choo as champion, as her issue was always the weird gimmicks rather than talent. Nice main event here and Choo has challengers waiting on her.

We get a bunch of replays and Timothy Thatcher comes out to present Choo with the title to end the show in a nice moment.

Overall Rating: B. This show was about getting a new Women’s Champion and they pulled that off. That’s in addition to the opener and a squash, with the triple threat for the Evolve Title being set up as well. That is a rather efficient use of just shy of an hour and I had a good time with this show. Evolve continues to feel like they know what they want to do week to week and this was no exception.

Results
Santi Rivera/Jacari Ball b. Lince Dorado/Max Abrams – Rollup to Dorado
Dorian Van Dux b. Kai Kavari – Shooting star press
Wendy Choo won the Gauntlet Eliminator last eliminating Nikkita Lyons

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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