Wrestlemania XL Night One
Date: April 6, 2024
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 72,543
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Corey Graves, Michael Cole
National Anthem: Coco Jones

It’s hard to believe that a show this big was over a year ago and things still feel so hot. This is one of the things WWE does best, with a big milestone event and a huge main event which has big ties to night two. They’re in another NFL stadium and the fans are going to be hot all night, or at least they will be in theory. Let’s get to it.

Note that I was in the stadium for this show, sitting in the upper deck with the entrance on my right. It was VERY cold after the sun went down and that had a big impact on the fans all night.

We get the debut of the new “Then, Now And Forever” opening, which looked awesome then and now.

The opening video looks at the city of Philadelphia and features rapper Meek Mill. The focus is on the big tag team main event, with Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins teaming up to face Roman Reigns and the Rock, with the stipulations for Rhodes vs. Reigns on the line. The rest of the matches get a look, but they’re all paling in comparison to the big tag match.

Cole says that it’s 52 degrees but feels like 48. That would drop fast.

Coco Jones sings the National Anthem, ending a longstanding tradition of America The Beautiful.

Here is HHH for the big opening. He wastes no time in welcoming us to the show and we’re ready to go.

We recap Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley for the latter’s Raw Women’s Title. The video looks at some passages from Lynch’s book, which talk about how important this is to her and how it is all she wants to do. Lynch got the shot by winning the Elimination Chamber and it’s pretty much a dream match, with Lynch being one of the only people close to Ripley’s level.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch

Ripley is defending and gets played to the ring by Motionless In White in an outstanding entrance. She keeps singing the song even as she walks down the ramp to make it feel even more special. Commentary points out that Lynch has been sick with strep throat all week, which isn’t likely going to go well. Ripley shoves her down to start but Lynch avoids a charge into the corner.

Back up and Ripley muscles her over with a northern lights suplex for two, followed by a regular suplex for the same. Ripley kicks her down and goes up for an Eddie Guerrero frog splash but takes too long, allowing Lynch to armdrag her down (nice counter). Lynch strikes away and hits a tornado DDT for two, followed by a springboard kick out of the corner.

The middle rope Fameasser in the ropes sends Ripley outside, setting up a suplex into the barricade. Back in and another Fameasser gets two so Ripley fireman’s carry slams her down. One heck of a knee to the face gives Ripley two but she gets caught in a cross armbreaker. Three powerbombs finally break it up to give Ripley two and some screaming ensues.

Ripley hammers away but a charge into the post makes Ripley’s arm even worse. The arm is fine enough to grab the Prism Trap and it Ripley even pulls her into a bodyscissors for a unique twist (and crank). Somehow Lynch gets out and manages to counter Riptide into a Manhandle Slam for two. Back up and the Riptide out of nowhere gives Ripley two of her own, with the kickout leaving her angry.

Ripley goes up again and gets crotched back down again, setting up the Disarm-Her. That’s reversed into an electric chair and they fall over the top, with Ripley somehow sticking the landing. An electric chair drop onto the floor knocks Lynch silly, followed by a frog splash for two back inside. McAfee is LOSING IT on the kickout, asking why Lynch would kick out from all this while having a 102 degree fever. They both go up with Lynch’s super Manhandle Slam being broken up. Ripley punches her in the face, hits a Riptide onto the buckle (ow) and adds a regular version for the pin to retain at 17:08.

Rating: B. This was indeed a dream match and Lynch is always a threat to win a big fight, but Ripley getting this kind of a win was the right move. Ripley was on absolute fire at this point, having held the title for a year. It never quite got into that higher gear, but as someone who has had more than 30 (diagnosed) cases of strep throat, I can move than live with Lynch not being up to her normal level.

Pretty Deadly previews the six team ladder match for the Tag Team Titles. Wilson: “New Catch Republic.” Prince: “That’s a team?” They aren’t fans of most of the teams, but really hate the New Day. They even mock Xavier Woods’ trombone skills!

DIY vs. New Catch Republic vs. Awesome Truth vs. Judgment Day vs. A-Town Down Under vs. New Day

Judgment Day is defending and both the Raw and Smackdown titles are hanging above the ring, meaning two different teams can win them for a split. The Republic doesn’t get their own graphics at first, coming out with the Awesome Truth stuff appearing on the Titantron. There are twelve people in this so it’s going to be total insanity for a long time. A bunch of people brawl to the floor and the rest join them as it’s a big mess to start.

A-Town Down Under both grab ladders and go for an early climb but get caught, with a bunch of people going up and getting pulled right back down. New Day puts a ladder up between the belts and knocks the other ladders over, only to get pulled down by Judgment Day. A ladder to the head puts Ciampa down but Bate puts Balor in a torture rack…while Balor is holding a ladder at the same time. The ladder is eventually dropped, just like Balor onto another ladder in the corner.

For some reason Bate and Dunne climb a ladder on the floor, setting up stereo moonsaults onto piles of people. There is a big ladder bridged between the announcers’ table and the ring as Priest tries to go up. Miz cuts that off and gets beaten down for his efforts…as R-Truth wants a tag. The fans get into it and Priest’s look of “what am I doing here” is great.

Naturally Miz tags him in for the John Cena sequence, with the AA…pinning Balor. Priest comes back in to break it up and is taken out just as fast, but R-Truth wants Gargano (who he thinks is Shawn Michaels because reasons) to tune up the band. You do that at Wrestlemania, so it’s a superkick into Ciampa’s Fairy Tale Ending (close enough to the Pedigree) to drop Priest. Awesome Truth and DIY agree to get a set of titles each but A-Town Down Under break it up…and win the Smackdown Tag Team Titles at 7:30.

The Republic is right there to powerbomb Waller, still holding a title, through the bridged ladder to likely get rid of him, at least for a bit. DIY takes out the Republic and some others, with Bate being sent through the Prime Hydration Station. Since it’s Philadelphia (and wrestling in 2024), we need tables to go with the ladders. Ciampa is put on a bridged ladder (rather than a table) for a rope walk elbow from Woods.

New Day both goes up the ladder, with Kingston doing a big trust fall dive to take out the pile in a smart move. Theory is there to cut Woods off though, with the Republic having to cut him off. Gargano hits the One Final Beat over the top to send Dunne through a table on the floor for a nasty crash.

Not to be outdone, Ciampa hits a super Air Raid Crash off the latter to knock Bate silly. R-Truth is all alone but here is JD McDonagh, who wants to be in the Judgment Day, to make the save (because this match needs ANOTHER person). Kingston makes the save with a chair though and McDonagh is stuck on the ladder, which is tipped over for a pretty scary bump over the top through some tables.

Priest gives Kingston a Razor’s Edge onto a chair and goes up, with Miz making the save. Miz gets chokeshoved off the ladder and Priest grabs a fresh ladder, only to be taken out by R-Truth. That’s enough for R-Truth to get the Raw Tag Team Titles and finally wrap things up at 17:23.

Rating: B-. Total stunt show match and that’s a fine way to go, though dang there were a lot of people involved in this thing and it hurt the match. I’m really not a fan of splitting up the titles again, but at least we did get a fun moment with the Awesome Truth win. This was the “get a bunch of people on the show” match and the ladders…well they’re pretty much a Wrestlemania tradition these days. Fun match, but total insanity.

We get an ad for the Bray Wyatt documentary so the Fireflies are out in a nice moment.

Cole talks about the weather again, complete with the graphics, which is such a weird thing to see.

We recap Santos Escobar/Dominik Mysterio vs. Rey Mysterio/Andrade, which started with Escobar turning on Rey and injuring his knee. Dominik was added for the family touch and…well it was going to be Dragon Lee but then he got attacked last night so Andrade is there to make it a tag match. In other words, it’s a total mess of a story but we get the tag match anyway.

Dominik Mysterio/Santos Escobar vs. Rey Mysterio/Andrade

The rest of Legado del Fantasma and the LWO are here too. Escobar wastes no time in hitting a knee as Cole talks about how the wind is picking up, which is where the cold really started being a problem. It’s quickly off to Dominik, who gets hit in the face by Andrade. The spinning back elbow (better than the Judas Effect) connects and it’s off to Rey for a headscissors. Escobar puts Rey on his shoulders in an electric chair and they both dive onto the floor to take the villains out.

Back in and Rey tries to whip Dominik ala last year, but this time Dominik saves himself from the pain. Escobar comes back in with a middle rope legdrop, setting up a backbreaker/slingshot hilo combination for two. Another backbreaker keeps Rey in trouble but he gets a boot up in the corner to stop a charging Escobar. That’s enough for the tag off to Andrade so house can be quickly cleaned.

The running knees hit Dominik in the corner and the double jump moonsault gets two. It’s already back to Rey for the 619 to Escobar, leaving Andrade to moonsault onto Dominik. A super hurricanrana gives Escobar two so Elektra Lopez gets on the apron, only to be taken out by Zelina Vega.

The other seconds get involved, with Joaquin Wilde hitting his huge slingshot dive. Back in and Escobar sends Rey shoulder first into the post before telling Dominik to get a chair. Cue two rather muscular men in Rey masks (McAfee seems to recognize them) to break it up though, allowing Rey and Andrade to take out the villains. Rey’s top rope splash finishes Escobar at 11:02.

Rating: C+. This was another “get a bunch of people on the show” match and the video before the match didn’t make it feel any less complicated. Seeing the Mysterios fighting again after their far better match last year was a weird way to go and it was only so good of a match in the first place. Just do Rey vs. Escobar in their big grudge match.

On a personal note: I met Escobar at the Rocky Balboa statue the next day. Nice guy.

Post match the masked men unmask as Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson, former Philadelphia Eagles for a heck of a reaction.

We recap Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso, which is a look at how they have been brothers their whole life, having only been born nine minutes apart. They have shared everything over the years, from birthdays to family members to the main event of Wrestlemania. Then Roman Reigns caused them to split up (over and over), with Jey becoming more of a singles star.

Jey even challenged Reigns for the WWE Championship at Summerslam but Jimmy cost him the match and the title. Then they waited about eight months before the match because….I have no idea really, but in theory it’s so they can have this match at Wrestlemania. Ignore that it killed the feud’s momentum.

Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso

Lil Wayne (billed as the “greatest rapper of all time”) does part of Jey’s entrance. Jey isn’t wasting time and dives onto Jimmy during his entrance to start fast. A clothesline sends Jimmy outside for a suicide dive, followed by a high crossbody back inside. Jimmy grabs a pop up Samoan drop (doesn’t quite make it work), followed by the running Umaga attack in the corner.

Jey goes up but gets knocked out of the air, allowing Jimmy to start firing off the superkicks. Four or five leave Jey down and Jimmy goes up top, only to have to roll through the Superfly Splash. Jey’s superkick hits somewhere in the shoulder area, meaning it’s time for the YEET/NO YEET slugout.

They alternate the same sequence of strikes before trading superkicks (with Jey telling him to “GIVE ME THAT S***!”). Jey slowly superkicks him down, despite not seemingly wanting to do so. Jimmy apologizes and seems to offer a reunion, only to superkick Jey down. The Superfly Splash gets two on Jey but he’s back up with a spear. Now the Superfly Splash finishes Jimmy at 11:05.

Rating: D. Yeah this really was as bad and dull as it was seen as being. This was about eleven minutes of the two of them throwing superkicks and doing the same move to each other. I like the idea of having the brothers getting to fight at Wrestlemania and it’s a story that was set up, but they waited eight months to let the heat die off. This was a pretty cold match and then they just did the same moves until Jey won. Terribly boring stuff here and one of the worst matches you’ll see at Wrestlemania.

We recap Bianca Belair/Naomi/Jade Cargill vs. Damage CTRL. After Damage CTRL injured Belair, she realized she needed help so she got some friends. This is Belair’s first match since debuting at the Royal Rumble, making this more of a showcase for her than anything else.

Damage CTRL vs. Naomi/Bianca Belair/Jade Cargill

Damage CTRL comes to the ring with a bunch of geisha women dancing with fans. The other three rise up on a platform though and then step over onto the ramp, looking like superheroes (that was great). Naomi and Asuka start things off but Naomi has to kick Sane down as well. A splits splash in the corner gets two but Sane knocks Naomi outside, setting up an Insane Elbow to a standing Naomi on the floor.

Back in and Asuka and Sane double team her down, only for Naomi to hit a heck of a kick to the head in the corner. The tag brings in Belair to clean house, including a moonsault over a charging Kai in the corner so she can hammer on all three at once. A handspring moonsault gives Belair a triple near fall but Kai breaks up the tag attempt. Asuka’s running knee gets two but Belair flips out of a double suplex and dives over to Cargill.

That’s good for a heck of a reaction and Cargill gets to clean house. Cargill pulls Sane out of the air and throws her down, setting up a splash to Kai in the corner. Everything breaks down and Asuka mists Sane by mistake. The hair whip hits Asuka with a skin curdling sound, leaving Cargill to grab Kai (and walk her around the ring) for Jaded and the pin at 8:04.

Rating: C. This was little more than a countdown until Cargill got in at the end to do her big finisher. That’s quite the way to debut someone (at least outside of the Royal Rumble) and Cargill absolutely felt like a star. The problem is it wasn’t much of a match, as they only had so much time with so many people involved. Either way, it was all about Cargill and nothing more, which worked fairly well.

Post match the winners all get to pose for a nice moment.

We recap Gunther defending the Intercontinental Title vs. Sami Zayn. Gunther has rewritten all of the title’s records Gunther talks about the title’s history and all of the greatness that it has seen, but the legacy ends with him. Zayn wants to win a big singles match on his own and has been trained by Chad Gable, resulting in something of a Rocky III story as Zayn is scared of losing everything he has if he loses again. Gable talked him into training even harder though and we’re ready to go.

Zayn talks to his wife and son in the back, with his son saying he can do it. Zayn asks his wife to stay in the back with his son because he doesn’t want them to see the violence. With that done, Zayn runs into Gable, who wants Zayn out there on his own for his big moment. Zayn walks to the ring….and runs into Kevin Owens, who hugs him and tells him to go do it.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther vs. Sami Zayn

Gunther is defending and backs him into the corner to start. Zayn switches places and hammers away, with some of the chops staggering Gunther. A springboard doesn’t work so well though as Gunther German suplexes him out of the air. One heck of a chop and a boot to the head rock Zayn again but he keeps getting up and coming back. Gunther puts him on the top for a chop and then stands on Zayn’s face, which always looks painful.

More chopping has Zayn in trouble as Zayn’s wife is shown in the front row. Zayn is back up with a running shot of his own for a much needed breather. The chops rock Zayn again but Zayn PUNCHES HIM IN THE FACE to take over. Some half and half suplexes have Gunther rocked but he hits his big clothesline for two. Zayn is back up with his running up the corner tornado DDT so it’s time to load up the Helluva Kick.

Gunther pulls that into the sleeper so Zayn goes towards the ropes, which is countered with a suplex. A charge into the corner is cut off and Gunther gets suplexed, only to come out of the corner with the dropkick. One heck of a powerbomb gives Gunther two and he can’t believe the kickout. Gunther hits his own Helluva Kick, only to have Zayn hit one of his own (to the shoulder) for two.

Another big clothesline into a double powerbomb gets two and the fans are WAY into this. Gunther glares down at Zayn’s wife and then stomps on his head, leaving Zayn looking shaken. Zayn gets planted again and there’s another powerbomb to make it worse. Back to back top rope splashes crush Zayn….but he fights his way up and Helluva Kicks Gunther on top. The brainbuster onto the buckle connects (commentary JUMPS up in the background for a great visual) and a pair of Helluva Kicks FINALLY finish Gunther to make Zayn champion at 15:32.

Rating: A-. I knew where this was going and they pulled me into this match all over again. It really did feel like a Rocky story, as Zayn was in over his head with someone so much bigger and stronger, but Zayn was never going to give up and took it to Gunther until he won. It was an excellent story and I got way into this whole thing. Gunther losing isn’t going to hurt him after the most dominant reign ever and now he can move up to the next level. Awesome match with what felt like a Wrestlemania Moment.

Various wrestlers talk about the importance of Wrestlemania. There are a bunch of highlights from over the years and wrestlers talk about what it means to them. I have no idea what the point of this way other than “Hey, this thing that you’re watching is awesome isn’t it?”.

We look back at Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson getting involved earlier.

Cole has another weather report! It supposedly feels like 45 degrees and…there’s no way it was that warm.

Raw General Manager Adam Pearce and Smackdown General Manager Nick Aldis are here to say thank you to the 72,543 fans.

Various celebrities are here.

Wrestlemania Sunday rundown.

We hit the long recap on Seth Rollins/Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns/The Rock. Back in February, the Rock came back and teased facing Reigns at Wrestlemania, with Rhodes seemingly stepping aside. This led to a big fan movement to get Rhodes (the Royal Rumble winner) back in the match, with Rhodes saying he wanted to face Reigns. They argued over their families’ legacies, with Rock joining forces with his cousin as part of the Bloodline.

Rollins (the World Heavyweight Champion, who is also defending on Sunday) offered to be on Rhodes’ side to take out the Bloodline once and for all. The tag match was set, with some special stipulations: if Rollins/Rhodes win, Reigns vs. Rhodes is a clean match with no Bloodline. If Rock/Reigns lose though, the match is Bloodline Rules, where anything goes. Rock wasn’t done though and even insulted Rhodes’ mother to make it extra personal. He also busted Rhodes open but that’s not as bad as messing with his mom.

The Rock/Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins

If the villains win, Rhodes vs. Reigns is Bloodline Rules but if the good guys wins, the Bloodline is barred from ringside. Naturally the Rock has his own title (which he got last night) and comes out in a flaming Brahma Bull symbol, because this has to take its sweet time. So after the Big Match Intros, we’re ready to go over TWENTY SIX MINUTES after the recaps and entrances started.

They all stare at each other for over a minute to start until Reigns and Rollins start things off. We get more stalling as Reigns looks at the singing crowd. They finally lock up over two and a half minutes after the bell, with Reigns grabbing a headlock. Reigns knocks him down so Rollins starts running the ropes, setting up a kick to the ribs to slow Reigns a bit. Rhodes comes in to work on Reigns’ arm but gets clotheslined in the corner for his efforts. Some forearms don’t get Rhodes very far and it’s a standoff.

Rollins comes in off a blind tag and we get a big two on one staredown with Reigns. Rock (slowly, like everything else) comes in to shove Rollins down as McAfee sounds like he’s getting antsy about the slow pace. Rollins hits Rock in the face and it’s time for the fans to sing again. Some right hands put Rollins down and a clothesline does it again so Rock wants Rhodes.

That’s exactly what he gets for a lockup before Rhodes wins a slugout. Everything breaks down for a four way staredown and the big brawl is on. Rollins spits Prime into Rock’s face as Rhodes and Reigns fight up the aisle. Rock fights back and tells the referee that if he counts, he’s fired (nice little way to get around the countout). Rollins and Rock fight into the crowd with Rollins sending him into various hard objects.

Reigns and Rhodes fight over a suplex on the stage as Rollins is sent into a trashcan. Some water to the face seems to wake Rollins up a bit and everyone comes back to ringside. Reigns gets in a cheap shot on Rollins to knock him off the apron, with Rollins coming up favoring his knee. They actually get back inside, with Rock starting in on the knee, including wrapping it around the post.

Reigns grabs a half crab but Rollins fights out, only for Reigns to knock Rhodes outside. That means there’s no one for Rollins to tag so he clotheslines Reigns outside and follows him, only to get whipped into the steps. Back in and Reigns hits some corner clotheslines, allowing him to strike the Bloodline pose for a bit. The Superman Punch is countered into a neckbreaker but Rock is right there with a low blow.

The referee even goes over to Rhodes with an apology, which is unique if nothing else. Granted it makes you wonder why Rock hasn’t ordered the referee to say “Rollins can’t continue, Bloodline wins”, but maybe I’m thinking too much into this. The jumping enziguri gets Rollins out of trouble but Reigns pulls Rhodes off the apron to break up the tag. Rock gets the Sharpshooter so Rhodes comes in with a slap to break it up.

Rollins manages to hit the Stomp and crawls over for the needed tag. Rhodes Disaster Kick and Cody Cutters Reigns for two but Reigns is back with a Superman Punch. The spear is countered into a sunset flip for two and a top rope Cody Cutter…is more a top rope headbutt, with Rollins tagging himself in for a frog splash and a near fall. Heyman tells Rollins “I hate your d*** song” to make it personal as Rollins gets up. Well that’s a bit extreme.

Some superkicks put Reigns down but Rock cuts Rollins off, leaving Reigns to spear Rhodes for two. The guillotine goes on to put Rhodes in more trouble, with Rollins making the save with another stomp. Rock whips out the bloody weight belt and yells at Mama Rhodes, who yells back with quite the fire in her voice. Rhodes knocks the belt away from Rock but walks into a spinebuster. The People’s Elbow is countered into a Cody Cutter (thanks for diving into it Rock) but Reigns is back in with a Superman Punch.

The spear….hits the Rock though and stereo Pedigrees drop the Bloodline for a double near fall (Heyman’s panicked face in the background was great). Back up and they fight to the floor, where Rock spits water on Rhodes and loads up the announcers’ table. Rollins breaks up the Rock Bottom through the table though and Rhodes gives Rock a Rock Bottom through the other one instead.

One heck of a spear puts Rollins through the barricade and everyone is down. Rock and Rhodes get back inside, but Reigns cheap shots Rhodes from the floor. Back in and Reigns slugs it out with Rhodes for the BOO/YAY until a pair of Cross Rhodes drops Reigns. The third is broken up with a weightlifting belt to the back and Reigns hits the spear. The Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow finish Rhodes (Cole declares him “screwed”) at 44:32.

Rating: C+. This is almost fascinating in a way, as it’s not a bad match, but it’s almost the length of the first three matches on the card combined. You could have EASILY cut off about twenty minutes of this and gotten the same thing, but everything was just taking its sweet time out there. I can go with the Empire Strikes Back style ending as the villains get to stand tall and our hero looks dead to rites, but dang man this was just far too long. The fact that the match was taking place in front of a freezing stadium and so many of the fans just wanted to go home and warm up made it even worse.

The villains pose and the heroes realize they’re in big trouble tomorrow.

A long highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B-. For what was supposed to be the first half of the biggest show of the year, this really didn’t stand out that much. Lynch vs. Ripley felt big but never got to that next level, Zayn vs. Gunther was genuinely great and the main event was WAY too long. The other four matches on the show ranged from forgettable to bad, and that doesn’t make for much of a four plus hour show. It’s not awful or bad, but I was expecting a bit more than what we got here.

Ratings Comparison

Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch

Original: B
Redo: B

Tag Team Ladder Match

Original: C+
Redo: B-

Dominik Mysterio/Santos Escobar vs. Andrade/Rey Mysterio

Original: C+
Redo: C+

Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso

Original: D
Redo: D

Damage CTRL vs. Jade Cargill/Naomi/Bianca Belair

Original: C+
Redo: C

Sami Zayn vs. Gunther

Original: A-
Redo: A-

The Rock/Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins

Original: C+
Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: B-
Redo: B-

That’s almost the same, or at least close enough, up and down the card, which doesn’t happen very often.

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Stand & Deliver 2025
Date: April 19, 2025
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T., Corey Graves

It’s the biggest show of the year and the card is stacked enough. The show features a variety of matches and most of the titles are on the line. The main event is Je’Von Evans and Trick Williams challenging Oba Femi for the NXT Title. Since it’s Wrestlemania Weekend, there’s a ladder match in there too. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Gigi Dolin/Tatum Paxley vs. Fatal Influence vs. Meta Four vs. Roxanne Perez/Cora Jade

Elimination rules and the winners get a Women’s Tag Team Title shot on Tuesday. Perez is a bit scared to start with Legend, who knocks her into the corner for the tag off to Dolin. Legend comes in to hammer away and it’s already off to Jade as everything breaks down. Legend’s toss into Jackson’s sitout powerbomb gets two on Paxley with Dolin making the save. All eight get in to brawl and it’s time for the dives to the floor. Jade DDTs Jackson on the floor, leaving Perez to counter a powerbomb into Pop Rox to pin Jackson at 7:31.

Jade comes in for a running neckbreaker to Jayne…as Perez walks out. Dolin and Paxley get a double rollup to pin Jade at 9:33. We’re down to two and Paxley and Dolin get a double submission on Nyx, with Henley making the save. A running knee gets two on Dolin with Paxley making a save of her own. Henley is knocked outside and the Cemetery Drive finishes Jayne at 12:50.

Rating: C+. I can always go for the elimination rules to make things more interesting and they definitely helped here. Paxley and Dolin might not be likely to win the titles but they’re a fun team that the fans can get behind. The bigger story here is Perez walking out, which is likely going to see her move up to the main roster. It’s not like she has anything else to do around here.

The opening video looks at Las Vegas and how things have gone from nothing into gold. Now the thirst for that gold is as strong as ever. It’s all about winning the titles, with a look at the lineup, including the non-title match.

North American Title: Ricky Saints vs. Ethan Page

Saints is defending and starts fast with a jumping enziguri. The dancing Old School drops Page again but a tornado DDT is broken up. Page powerslams him onto the apron for a nasty crash and they go back inside. Some forearms to the back have Saints in more trouble and a suplex gets two. Saints fights up and knocks Page to the floor but a dive hits the announcers’ table.

The Boston crab goes on back inside but Saints escapes and fires off the shots to the face. That earns him a ram into the turnbuckle, followed by a suplex over the top for another nasty crash. Back in and a springboard tornado DDT cuts Page off but he slams Saints out of the corner for two more. Saints manages a spinning reverse DDT and goes up, where he gets caught by Page, only to come back with a powerbomb. Page knocks him down again though and hits the Ego’s Edge for a near fall. The Twisted Grin is blocked though and Saints hits the spear. Roshambo retains the title at 12:38.

Rating: B-. Saints continues to look good when he is given the chance out there and Page is a good choice for an opponent, as he can work well enough with anyone. This was Saints’ latest showcase as it’s clear that the company thinks pretty highly of him. That’s all this needed to be and the fans certainly liked it well enough.

Tag Team Titles: Fraxiom vs. Hank & Tank

Fraxiom is defending after Hank & Tank won a gauntlet match to get the shot. Axiom and Hank start things off with Hank not quite being able to keep up with him. Frazer comes in and gets double teamed down, setting up Tank’s backsplash for two. It’s back to Axiom as everything breaks down and Axiom hits a running kick to Hank for two more. A shot to the face wakes Hank up and he blasts Axiom with a clothesline.

Frazer comes back in for a rather fast running forearm into the running shooting star press for two. Hank fights out of a sleeper and hands it back to Tank to clean house. Everything breaks down again and the Golden Ratio hits Tank. Axiom takes out Hank with a dive on the floor, setting up a frog splash into a 450 for two more (that’s a bit of a stretch). Tank comes back in and an assisted splash hits Frazer for another near fall.

Frazer is sent outside so Hank tries a big suicide dive, only to crash onto the table (which doesn’t break). Back in and a high/low gets two on Tank followed by the super Spanish Fly into the phoenix splash for two with Hank diving in for the save. Frazer Sling Blades Hank but misses a phoenix splash. Tank dives onto Axiom as Hank hits a Boss Man Slam on Frazer. The powerslam/neckbreaker combination gives us new champions at 13:57.

Rating: B. Yeah this worked, with both teams doing rather well and the title change coming in a big upset. I’m not huge on Hank & Tank but they’ve been telling a story and have come a very long way. Fraxiom is likely on the way to the main roster, as there is absolutely nothing left for them to do in NXT. Let them be added to the Raw tag division, which needs the fresh blood.

Respect is shown post match as Fraxiom leaves.

Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller fame) is here and talks about how some wrestlers don’t believe they can do magic. Cue Lexis King, with the Heritage Cup, who says he’s too much of an intellectual. The Cup is put in a cage and a curtain is pulled down. Then the Cup is replaced by Teller, who is yeeting.

Women’s North American Title: Sol Ruca vs. Izzi Dame vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice vs. Thea Hail vs. Zaria

Ladder match for the vacant title. They waste no time in going for the ladders, with Jordan dropkicking one out of the ring. Dame drives Zaria into the steps with a ladder as Ruca gets one set up in the ring. Hail tornado DDTs Ruca to cut her down so Jordan comes up, with Vice pulling one leg away. That lets Jordan do the splits in the air but Zaria is back in with some spears. Dame ladders Zaria down and then suplexes her onto the ladder but Vice is back up.

Jordan takes her down and gets in some shots on the floor. One Of A Kind onto Zaria onto the ladder sends Zaria outside, leaving Jordan alone to climb the big ladder. That’s broken up and Vice starts striking away, only to have a spinning backfist hit ladder. Dame is back up to clean house, including a chokeslam to Jordan. Dame plants Ruca off the ladder and Hale plants Vice onto the ladder. Jordan is sent into a ladder and Hail goes up but Dame pulls the ladder away. A Kimura on top of the ladder has Dame in trouble and here is the Culling.

Hale is too far away from the title so Zaria tips the ladder over, sending Hale crashing onto the Culling. Ruca saves Zaria from getting crushed with the ladder (Graves: “Why?”) and a ladder is bridged into the standing one. Jordan and Ruca are shoved off the ladder so Zaria climbs, even with Vice on her back. That’s broken up and Jordan splashes Vice onto the bridged ladder.

The bridge is broken up and Ruca springboards up onto the ladder ala Shelton Benjamin. Zaria throws Jordan onto the pile at ringside and climbs up with Ruca. They slug it out on top of the ladder with Ruca getting knocked down. Then she pulls herself up to kick Zaria down, followed by something like Skinning The Cat onto the top of the ladder. Some Sol Snatchers drop various other people, allowing Ruca to get the title at 14:39.

Rating: B-. It’s a multi person ladder match so you know about what you’re going to get here. Ruca got to do all of her insane athletic stuff and wins in the end, though it still only means so much when it’s in a ladder match. As usual, it’s hard to really stand out in a match like this but they did enough big spots to keep things fun.

We look at the Kickoff Show match.

Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley are happy to get their title shot, no matter who the champions are next week.

We recap Darkstate vs. the D’Angelo Family. Darkstate has attacked various people including the Family, meaning it’s time for revenge. The video focuses on how much D’Angelo loves and needs the members of the Family. That doesn’t sound good, especially after D’Angelo and Stacks have been having issues lately.

Darkstate vs. D’Angelo Family

Cutler James is the odd Darkstater out and the brawl starts on the floor. D’Angelo winds up surrounded in the ring but he comes out fighting anyway. The rest of the Family make the save and it’s a Shatter Machine to James. We get the opening bell and it’s Lennox starting with Stacks. Crusifino comes in with a slingshot shoulder and it’s Griffin coming in to knock Crusifino outside.

A whip into the apron has Crusifino in more trouble and they go inside where Lennox can hit a faceplant for two. Crusifino gets in a shot of his own and Stacks gets the tag (which D’Angelo wanted) to clean house. Griffin knocks Stacks outside though and sends him flying into the timekeeper’s area. Back in and Lennox hits a spinebuster, setting up Shuggars’ bodyscissors, as D’Angelo is looking livid on the apron.

Stacks fights up and manages a tag to D’Angelo, who gets fired up to make the comeback. Some spinebusters ensue but the numbers game catches up with D’Angelo. Crusifino crashes out to the floor, leaving Lennox to Jackhammer D’Angelo for two. A top rope triplebomb gets two with Stacks making the save. Everything breaks down and Riz gets in a dive on the floor to help with the effort. Griffin gets planted for two but Stacks has an idea. Stacks busts out some crowbars but D’Angelo doesn’t want to do it that way.

Shuggars knees Stacks into D’Angelo but he’s back up for the save. Stacks and D’Angelo are fine enough but James gets one of the crowbars on the floor. The referee breaks that up and Stacks crowbars Shuggars. D’Angelo isn’t pleased but shoves Stacks away from a shot from behind. Stacks and D’Angelo hug….and Stacks kicks him low. The toss triplebomb finishes D’Angelo at 13:12.

Rating: B-. This was all about Stacks and that’s not a bad way to go. That’s what they have been teasing for weeks now and they finally pulled the trigger after a nice tease of not going there. I’m not sure what this means for the future of the Family, but Stacks leaving opens up some fresh doors. At the same time, Darkstate look like players around here and that’s a good opening for the next little while.

Hank & Tank are fired up over their win.

We recap the Women’s Title match, with Stephanie Vaquer defending against three challengers. Jaida Parker and Jordynne Grace fought an an inconclusive result and Giulia wants the title back.

Women’s Title: Jaida Parker vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Giulia vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Vaquer is defending. They start fast with Parker taking over but not being able to hit a double team on Grace and Vaquer. We get the big Giulia vs Vaquer staredown, which is broken up again. Grace and Vaquer have their own staredown, with Vaquer chopping away and having her springboard broken up. Giulia is back in to unload on Parker, including a pump kick for two. Parker is back up to shoulder away at Vaquer but the top rope tear drop is broken up.

Grace comes back in and puts Giulia and Vaquer in an electric chair (geez) and a double Doomsday Blockbuster from Parker (who almost landed on her head). Vaquer’s figure four necklock faceplant (BIG pop for that) is broken up by Grace, who powers her down and then hits a Jackhammer on Giulia. Grace suplexes Parker, who suplexes Giulia and they pair off. Giulia missile dropkicks Grace and it’s time for the slugout with Vaquer.

A headbutt staggers Vaquer, who is right back with another attempt at the figure four necklock faceplants. Instead Giulia hits a stomp but Parker is back with a running Blockbuster. Parker puts all three in the corner for a triple Tear Drop, meaning we get some high stepping. The quadruple submission goes on for some near taps, only for Vaquer to send everyone into the corner for some running shots.

A dragon screw legwhip gets two on Giulia and NOW the faceplants (the Devil’s Kiss, which is a lot easier to type) connect on all three challengers as the fans are WAY into this. The SVB is broken up and Giulia knees Vaquer outside. The Juggernaut Driver hits Giulia but Parker breaks it up with the Hipnotique. Parker comes up favoring her hip and gets rolled up for two. Another Hipnotique hits Giulia but Vaquer is back in with the SVB to Parker to retain at 16:30.

Rating: B. Vaquer gets another big win to keep her title, the showdown with Giulia is still on the table, Parker’s charisma is still incredible, and Grace is still really strong. This was throwing almost all of the top of the division into one match and that’s a good way to make things feel important. I’m good with Vaquer winning as she hasn’t been champion long and she still has a lot of singles matches ready to go in the near future.

Lexis King is looking for the Heritage Cup but can’t find anything.

A limping Stacks leaves but Luca Crusifino pops up to ask what was going on. Stacks says he’ll explain later and keep your phone on so Stacks can text him. With that, Stacks drives away, leaving Crusifino confused.

We recap the main event. Oba Femi is the monster NXT Champion, Trick Williams wants his title back, and Je’Von Evans is here too, despite not really being close to their level. Evans has gotten in some good verbal jabs to Williams though and Femi is sick of hearing from both of them.

NXT Title: Oba Femi vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Trick Williams

Femi is defending and Evans’ early attempt at a double springboard cutter is cut off. Femi runs both of them over but gets dropkicked out to the floor, with Williams offering a low bridge. Evans knocks Williams down again but Femi is back in to Samoan drop both of them at the same time. Femi knocks Williams down again, only to walk into a springboard clothesline from Evans. Williams gives Evans a Falcon Arrow for two and knocks Femi down for a bonus.

A neckbreaker puts Femi down again and Williams stares at Evans. They both jump at each other and crash with Williams getting two as commentary isn’t sure what they did. With the other two on the floor, Williams hits a big dive for the double knockdown. Evans is back up with a bottom rope moonsault to take Williams out, followed by a hurricanrana back inside. Femi is back inside too so Evans springboard flip dives onto both of them for two.

The Tower Of Doom brings everyone down and Femi is ready to get fired up. Some running shots in the corner rock Williams, who is right back with a spinning kick to the face. Evans makes the save and rolls Williams up for two, followed by a frog splash to Femi, who grabs him by the throat. The chokeslam is countered into a cutter for two and a standing Sliced Bread gives Evans two. Williams pulls Femi to the floor, where Femi drops him without much trouble.

Back in and Evans slams Femi, setting up the top rope cutter for two, with Williams being way too late trying to make a save. The referee gets bumped and Evans takes out Williams before countering the Fall From Grace. Femi is ticked off and sends Evans through the barricade, only to walk into a Rock Bottom through the announcers’ table.

Back in and the Trick Shot hits Evans but Femi holds the referee from getting back in. The referee kicks Femi away (oh that didn’t look good) but Femi dives in for the save anyway. Evans dives onto Femi but walks into the Trick Shot. Femi powerbombs Williams onto Evans and then hits a sitout powerbomb to Evans to retain at 16:48.

Rating: B+. I wasn’t wild on this match coming in but they left it all in the ring and had a heck of a showdown. Evans is an athletic freak and can do all kinds of impressive things in the ring. Williams was his usual impressive self, but there is something amazing about Femi activating Beast Mode and smashing everyone. That’s what we saw here and while I still could have gone for Williams vs. Femi, this was very good stuff.

Overall Rating: B. I would say this one exceeded expectations as I did not expect much from it coming in and they delivered rather well. The main event is very good and the rest of the show is good enough for a look. NXT needs a few more tweaks, but they had enough here to keep things going and there are stories set up for the next few weeks. Rather good show here and better than I was expecting.

Results
Tatum Paxley/Gigi Dolin b. Meta Four, Roxanne Perez/Cora Jade and Fatal Influence – Cemetery Drive to Jayne
Ricky Saints b. Ethan Page – Roshambo
Hank & Tank b. Fraxiom – Powerslam/neckbreaker combination to Frazer
Sol Ruca b. Izzi Dame, Kelani Jordan, Lola Vice, Thea Hail and Zaria – Ruca pulled down the title
Darkstate b. D’Angelo Family – Toss triplebomb to D’Angelo
Stephanie Vaquer b. Jaida Parker, Giulia and Jordynne Grace – SVB to Parker
Oba Femi b. Je’Von Evans and Trick Williams – Sitout powerbomb to Evans

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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TJPW Live In Las Vegas
Date: April 18, 2025
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Nick Knowledge

So here we have Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, another Japanese women’s promotion coming to America. I’ve seen this promotion before and it’s a bit more over the top and goofy compared to Stardom. It makes for something interesting and fun, which is exactly what you want. On occasion. Let’s get to it

Note that I do not follow the promotion so I apologize in advance for any character or plot points I miss.

As usual in TJPW, we open with a mini concert, this time from the Up Up Girls. It’s certainly energetic and that’s a good way to start things off. They go around ringside and while some fans seem to be very happy, some are also looking a bit confused. Then they go in the ring for a singing/dancing routine and this just kind of keeps going. With the song over, the women say something in Japanese, plus thanking the fans. Now get ready for the show.

Yuki Arai vs. Arisu Endo

They both seem popular. Arai works on a wristlock to start but gets reversed into a headlock. Back up and Endo kicks her into the corner, only to get knocked right back down. They go to the mat with Arai working on the leg for a bit, followed by a quick dropkick. Endo is back up with a running forearm in the corner and a running crotch attack against the ropes.

A hard kick to the face drops Endo again and the camera moves around a bit, showing graphics with the wrestlers’ names included. That’s a very smart move as it might be a case where you don’t know who you’re watching. Simple, yet beneficial. Arai’s Sharpshooter is broken up and Endo pulls her into a camel clutch, which you don’t see that often these days. That’s broken up as well and Arai kicks her in the head again for two. Endo snaps off a suplex, only for Arai to come back with a full nelson slam. An ax kick to the back of the head gives Arai the pin at 7:18.

Rating: C+. This was a mostly to the point match and Arai’s kicks looked good, especially the one at the end. That’s a good way to start things off and the fans seemed to like both of them well enough. It helps that they’re both in bright and colorful gear so the energy is certainly high to start and that’s a nice feeling to have.

Ram Kaicho/Viva Van/Yuki Aino vs. Rika Tatsumi/Shino Suzuki/Vert Vixen

It’s a big brawl to start and they fight to the floor/into the back. Commentary calls it a special look at the casino until Kaicho and Tatsumi come in. Tatsumi blocks a shot to the face and it’s off to Suzuki, who takes too long to send her into the corner. Instead Kaicho kicks her down, allowing for the stomping in the corner. Van comes in and teases a basement clothesline, which has Suzuki covering up.

That has Van pausing, but then she chops Suzuki down for daring to move her hands. Suzuki gets sent into the corner for a string of splashes and Aino hits a springboard spinning splash for two. A missed charge allows Suzuki to get over for the tag to Vixen for the power game. Vixen gets a sitout powerbomb for two on Kaicho but it’s off to Van for a spinwheel kick. Vixen fights back and hands it off to Tatsumi for a running elbow in the corner. A dropkick to the knee has Van in more trouble and the Figure Four goes on.

That’s broken up and Van hits her in the chest to take over. Aino comes back in to backdrop Suzuki but gets caught with a running neckbreaker. A belly to belly puts Aino down and Suzuki grabs a sleeper. Aino rams her into the corner for the break but Tatsumi is in with a hip attack. Vixen is in with a brainbuster but walks into a gutbuster. Kaicho is back in with a Venus (reverse) DDT for the pin on Suzuki at 13:45.

Rating: B. This was a wild enough match with a story that you could follow well enough. One of the best things about this place so far is that it seems easy to tell the good vs. the evil so it isn’t difficult to jump into a match. The action was solid enough here too, with everyone getting in some time to shine.

Maki Itoh/Zara Zakher vs. Max The Impaler/Raku

As usual, Itoh sings her way to the ring. Raku has a pillow with her, because that’s a necessary item. Zakher and Raku start things off…and Raku stops for a nap. The arena gets quiet (not wanting to be rude) and Zakher goes for a cover, only to get small packaged for two. Max comes in to throw the pillow outside, earning a dropkick from Zakher. Raku gets taken into the corner for the tag off to Itoh and the fans are rather pleased.

A facewash in the corner sets up a weird half crab, sending Raku over to the ropes. Raku hits her in the head and hurts her own hand so she switched to chops to the chest. Itoh gets taken down with a faceplant, allowing Max to come in and run Zakher over. Max hits a double shoulder for a double knockdown, followed by a double belly to back suplex.

It’s time to get creative, so Max picks Raku up and throws her at Itoh and Zakher. That lets Raku hit a double splash for two but misses….it looked like a ballerina spin into the corner. Itoh grabs a half crab so Max picks her up for the easy save. Raku accidentally chops Max and Itoh grabs a tornado DDT. Itoh’s running Death Valley Driver to Raku sets up the Itoh Deluxe (a Liontamer Texas Cloverleaf) for the tap at 9:46.

Rating: B-. This was a wacky enough tag match with Raku doing the sleep thing and Max in there as the monster. Itoh is a weird star in her own right and Zakher was there as enough of a straight woman for the others to bounce off most of the time. The sleep stuff was a bit out there but it seems like a regular deal for her and at least it was quick.

Max drags Raku away, apparently due to a bad case of sleep.

International Princess Title: Suzume vs. Jada Stone

Stone is challenging. They stare at each other to start and Stone hits a rather sudden running dropkick. Suzume’s crossbody is countered into a slam but she avoids the standing moonsault. Stone rolls outside and that means a slingshot dive to take her out again. Back in and Suzume rolls into a rollup for two, followed by a basement dropkick. Suzume starts in on the leg before grabbing a crucifix hold in the ropes. Stone is back up with a cartwheel into a kick down, setting up the split legged moonsault for two.

The surfboard goes on, with Suzume rolling out to the floor for a breather. Said breather seems to work as she’s back in with a high crossbody for two, followed by a jumping cutter for the same. Stone is right back up with a Last Chancery, but has to stop to adjust her top. With nothing else working, Stone hits a corkscrew moonsault for two so she goes up again. This time Suzume bulldogs her back down, setting up another jumping cutter to retain at 12:35.

Rating: B-. Stone was getting to show off here as she is quite the athlete. She was flying around here and showcasing just how good she is in the ring, which is always nice to see. Suzume was good as well and more than held her own, making for a nice match here. They were going back and forth here and a title change felt possible, so they definitely pulled me in.

Respect is shown post match.

Princess Tag Team Titles: Kyoraku Kyomei vs. Wakana Uehara/Yuki Kamifuku

Kyomei (Hyper Misao/Shoko Nakajima) are defending. Before the match, Misao (a superhero) introduces herself and Nakajima, who is apparently a giant monster. We start with Misao sending Yuki into the corner for some heroic choking. Misao whips out some spray to blind Yuki, with commentary wondering how that could be legal. Nakajima and Uehara come in for a test of strength until Uehara switches to a dropkick.

They go to the floor where Nakajima hammers away to take over and it’s back inside for a ram into Misao’s boot. A rocking horse sends Uehara’s head into Nakajima’s boot but Uehara manages an elbow to the face. Yuki comes back in with a dropkick and a running boot in the corner (makes sense as she has some long legs). Misao gets in a knee to the face and it’s already back to Nakajima. House is quickly cleaned and Misao comes back in for a rollup, even with feet on the ropes, for two.

Yuki is fine enough to hit another big boot to Misao so Uehara comes back in to work on Nakajima’s arm. Nakajima powers up and manages a double arm DDT and goes up, only to be superplexed down by Yuki. The challengers get stereo holds but they’re both broken up, one through a rope and the other with it just being released. Misao hits a high crossbody but Uehara dropkicks Nakajima. The middle rope Fameasser gives Uehara two but Misao plants her down. Nakajima’s top rope backsplash retains the titles at 13:14.

Rating: C+. Misao is about as over the top of a character as I can remember in this promotion but she’s also one of the few people who stand out around here. I remembered her name the second I heard it again and that’s a good sign for what she’s doing. The match was only fairly good, with Yuki’s long legs making her stand out more than just about anyone else. It was a bit more goofy though, which can be annoying for a title match.

TNA Knockouts Title: Miu Watanabe vs. Masha Slamovich

Slamovich is defending. They fight over arm control to start until Watanabe gets a headscissors for two, with Slamovich backing away in a hurry. Watanabe runs her over with a shoulder and a backbreaker gets two. Slamovich is back up with some big kicks for two and we’re off to a seated abdominal stretch. A whip is blocked though and Watanabe runs her over (with the size differential being mostly ignored), only for Slamovich to fire off some hard clotheslines.

They go to the mat with Slamovich grabbing a weird double arm crank, sending Watanabe to the ropes for a quick break. With the holds not working, they strike it out with Watanabe getting dropped again. Watanabe is right back up with a giant swing for two, followed by a kind of side powerbomb for the same. Another slam drops Slamovich but seems to fire her up, as tends to be the case in wrestling. A spinning kick to the chest knocks Watanabe silly and something close to a package piledriver retains the title at 10:45.

Rating: B-. Slamovich was working hard here in a big spot against a prominent name in Watanabe. It made for a nice showdown and it’s fun to see the Knockouts Title included on an important stage. Slamovich has come a long way and has become quite the star in TNA and elsewhere, which is a great sign for her future. The ending came a bit out of nowhere, but at least Slamovich won clean.

Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki vs. Miyu Yamashita

Mizuki is defending and this is the company’s top title. Yamashita works on the arm to start but Mizuki comes back with a dropkick. Mizuki heads up top but gets caught by the leg and kicked in the head. They go up to the stage, where Yamashita misses a running kick and gets taken down with a running double stomp. Yamashita is back with an AA onto the stage and it’s time to head back to the ring.

Some kicks to the chest give Yamashita two and Mizuki is back with a running dropkick against the ropes. Yamashita is knocked outside for a big dive but she’s able to block a suplex back inside. Something close to an Anaconda Vice sends Mizuki over to the ropes, where Yamashita kicks her in the head again. A desperation sleeper only gives Mizuki a quick breather but she’s back with a double stomp.

Yamashita is back up with a fireman’s carry for some knees to the head, setting up an AA for the big crash. They forearm it out until Yamashita hits a German suplex. Mizuki gets a crucifix driver for two but gets kicked in the head to leave them both down. Some kicks to the head cut Mizuki off but she’s back with a suplex. A running double stomp gives Mizuki two and a tabletop suplex retains the title at 17:37.

Rating: B-. It felt like a showdown with Mizuki overcoming the bigger and stronger challenger to retain. That’s a story that will always work and it certainly did here, with both of them working hard to make it work well. Mizuki is a smaller star and had to fight from underneath, which she made into a good story here. Yamashita did her thing as well and made for a solid challenger.

Post match Mizuki asks if you’re happy but says she can’t really speak English. Yamashita says she isn’t happy and shoves Mizuki away. Mizuki calls the locker room out to thank the fans to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’ve seen this promotion a few times now and I really can’t get into the whole princess/overly cute stuff. That is far from the only thing going on in the promotion, but it’s the focal point of a lot of what they do and that makes for a bit of a weird setup. What we got here was good enough and the action was fine, but it’s really just not my style.

Results
Yuki Arai b. Arisu Endo – Ax kick
Ram Kaicho/Viva Van/Yuki Aino b. Rika Tatsumi/Shino Suzuki/Vert Vixen – Venus DDT to Suzuki
Maki Itoh/Zara Zakher b. Max The Impaler/Raku – Itoh Deluxe to Raku
Suzume b. Jada Stone – Jumping cutter
Kyoraku Kyomei b. Wakana Uehara/Yuki Kamifuku – Top rope backsplash to Uehara
Masha Slamovich b. Miu Watanabe – Package piledriver
Mizuki b. Miyu Yamashita – Tabletop suplex

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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Smackdown
Date: April 18, 2025
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’re less than a day away from Wrestlemania and that means it is time for the final push towards the biggest show of the year. In this case we have the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and a Tag Team Title match, with the Motor City Machine Guns challenging the Street Profits. Let’s get to it.

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

Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga arrived earlier but LA Knight slammed Tonga’s car door on his arm, Larry Zbyszko style.

Here is Seth Rollins to get things going. He’s not used to being on Smackdown but he’ll try the catchphrase anyway. Naturally the fans chant for CM Punk so Rollins sits down, ala Punk. Now it’s an OTC chant but Rollins would rather talk about Punk first (the fans are ok with this). Those chants for ten years brought Punk back to the ring, but it wasn’t a WWE ring.

It wasn’t for the fans, but rather because someone wrote him a big fat check. After he burned that bridge, he came back to WWE because they wrote him another big fat check. Rollins: “Tell me when I’m telling lies.” The reality is that Punk doesn’t care about anyone, and the reality is that Roman Reigns only cares about himself. Reigns is Mr. Private Jet and Mr. Handpicked Opponent because Reigns is always about making himself look bigger.

Every year, Reigns kept getting treated as the biggest thing in the world, but there were always some CM PUNK chants. While this was happening, Rollins was working every day, sacrificing his body. Last year at Wrestlemania, he was there despite his knee hanging on by a thread and his stepfather dying of cancer. Now the fans sing Rollins’ song as he talks about how the story ends at Wrestlemania, where he will lay it all on the line to move this business forward. And yes, that is a spoiler. This was a pretty straightforward promo as Rollins tries to remind us that he is part of this story.

Wrestlemania rundown.

Video on Andre The Giant.

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Rey Fenix, Shinsuke Nakamura, Andrade, Otis, Berto, Angel, Kit Wilson, Elton Prince, Akira Tozawa, Santos Escobar, Carmelo Hayes, Carlito, Julius Creed, R-Truth, Brutus Creed, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz del Toro, Miz, Karrion Kross, Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne, Ludwig Kaiser, Grayson Waller, Austin Theory, Chad Gable, Dragon Lee

R-Truth poses with Carlito to start and then throws him out, only to get booted out by Miz for some fast eliminations. Karrion Kross goes after Miz and we actually get a Bloodsport reference for a weird thing to hear on WWE TV. Legado del Fantasma goes after Fenix, who gets rid of Berto and Angel in quick fashion. Pretty Deadly beats up Bate but get tossed by A-Town Down Under. Bate is sent over the top but skins the cat, only to get dropkicked out by Kaiser.

Things slow down a bit as Escobar tries to get an alliance going with Fenix, who tosses him instead. Otis uses Tozawa as a projectile, allowing Julius Creed to throw Tozawa out. A double clothesline gets rid of the Creeds but Otis goes with them as the ring is clearing out in a hurry. Andrade tosses Waller and Theory and Fenix gets rid of Gable. Wilde and del Toro are out and Lee gets rid of Kross before grabbing a hurricanrana to Nakamura.

That just earns Lee a shot to the face and Nakamura tosses him out. Dunne and Kaiser fight to the apron but get back in, only for Dunne to eliminate Kaiser. Miz saves Hayes but gets dropkicked out for his efforts. Hayes tosses Dunne and we’re down to Hayes, Andrade, Nakamura and Fenix. Nakamura misses a charge into the corner and gets dropkicked out by Andrade to get us down to three. Fenix throws both of them over but they hang on for the save.

For some reason Fenix tries a rope walk so here is El Grande Americano to pull him out. We’re down to Andrade vs. Hayes as commentary talks about their history together. A double knockdown gives us a double breather before Hayes grabs a suplex cutter. For some reason Andrade tries a springboard and gets tossed to give Hayes the win at 15:28.

Rating: B-. Why not? This is a match where you can give someone a somewhat important victory without having to pin someone at the same time. Its winners don’t have the best track records but I can go for Hayes getting a win and possibly feuding with the Miz over being more successful than he has been lately. It’s not the most important match but it could mean something for Hayes.

Miz comes out to celebrate.

HHH Hall Of Fame video, looking at the Cell match with Undertaker. Didn’t we already see that one?

We get a sitdown interview with Charlotte who doesn’t like where her feud with Tiffany Stratton has gone but she’s ready to be on the big stage. This is how you make things happen.

Here is Rhea Ripley for a chat. This is going to be her sixth Wrestlemania and she’s always in a title match, but this feels like the most important. She lost her title right before Wrestlemania and this Sunday, she wins back what she lost. Cue Iyo Sky to interrupt but before she can say anything, Bianca Belair cuts her off.

She wants the title but here is Naomi to interrupt as well. Naomi has been trying to talk to Belair because she wanted to handle this in private. Instead though, we have to do this in public because Jade wasn’t there…and here she is too. Ripley gets in Jade’s face but Naomi knocks Jade into her. The big brawl is on and Sky hits the moonsault to wipe everyone out.

American Made mocks Rey Fenix but Dragon Lee and Rey Mysterio come in and a fight is teased. Fenix says we should have a six man tag and it seems to be on.

Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Street Profits

The Profits are defending and get jumped during their entrances to start fast. The Guns take over on Ford to start but he comes back with a clothesline to Sabin. Dawkins comes in for a clothesline of his own and the champs take over as we take a break. Back with Shelley diving over for a tag off to Sabin. House is cleaned, including a missile dropkick for two on Ford. Back up and Dawkins tosses Sabin into Ford for a belly to back suplex but Shelley is right back in. The Dream Sequence hits Ford but he breaks up the Skull & Bones to hit a big flip dive over the top. And cue DIY for the double DQ at 8:25.

Rating: C+. The match was getting going when the interference brought it to a halt but they only had so much time in the first place. Normally this would set up some kind of ladder match at Wrestlemania but I can’t imagine they would put that on with so little time left before the show. If nothing else, it should give them something to build off in the next few weeks as this story still has some steam.

DIY steal the titles and leave.

Chelsea Green and the Secret Hervice serve Nick Aldis with an official complaint. Aldis says there is a complaint, so tonight’s six woman tag is now a singles match with Green against Zelina Vega, with the Hervice barred from ringside. Screaming ensues.

Cardi B is hosting Summerslam. I was hoping we were getting away from that dumb idea.

Nick Aldis cuts off DIY from leaving with the titles. The Guns and the Profits come in and Aldis takes the titles. Next week, it’s TLC for the titles. Well that’s big.

Here is Randy Orton for a chat. As of right now, he does not have a Wrestlemania opponent. His father was at the first Wrestlemania and 20 years later, he made his Wrestlemania debut at the Garden (try again). He’s going to show up on Sunday in his gear and with just the right amount of baby oil, so anyone in the back can come test themselves. Just be ready for an RKO. Simple and to the point here since he doesn’t have an opponent.

Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre got in a fight at the Wrestlemania Kickoff event.

Priest is tired of McIntyre being a victim, but tomorrow Priest is going to beat him so badly that he wishes he was future endeavored again.

The smoke person is here next week.

Zelina Vega vs. Chelsea Green

Non-title. They start fast with Green having to get her skirt out from underneath her feet. Green pounds away to start but gets sent outside and over the barricade. Back in and Vega wins a slugout but the 619 is cut off with a kick to the head. They go up and a super Code Red gives Vega the upset win at 3:34.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go anywhere and it’s rarely a good idea to have a champion lose a clean fall. Last week’s countout was nothing of note but this felt more like it was out of the older WWE days. Hopefully we get something better for Green, because she shouldn’t be losing like this.

We look at Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker at Wrestlemania. The first time.

Here is LA Knight for a chat. He talks about trying to take out Jacob Fatu’s relatives so it’s one on one at Wrestlemania. This US Title means the most in WWE because he’s around the most so Solo Sikoa can get out here right now and take his beating.

LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa

Non-title and the brawl starts on the floor as we take a break. Back with the brawl continuing on the floor before they both get inside, with Sikoa getting two. Knight’s neckbreaker gets his out of trouble but Sikoa drops him again. Sikoa cannonballs down onto the ribs a few times, only to land in a low blow so Knight can fight back. A DDT connects…and Jacob Fatu runs in to beat Knight down for the DQ at 3:38.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to get anywhere here but that wasn’t the point of the match. Odds are someone is going to run in and help Knight after the match and a tag match will break out. Knight and Fatu’s match is already set up so this was just one more push to get us to the showdown.

Post match Braun Strowman runs in for the save and it’s time to do that tag match thing.

Braun Strowman/LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa/Jacob Fatu

We’re joined in progress with Fatu being low bridged to the floor and Strowman coming in to clean house. The Strowman Express drops Sikoa on the floor but Fatu is back with a jumping clothesline back inside. Sikoa and Fatu take turns working on a neck crank until Strowman fights up and brings Knight back in. Everything breaks down and Strowman is sent over the announcers’ table. With Fatu outside, Knight hits a BFT to pin Sikoa at 4:34 shown.

Rating: C+. This was another short match but they got a decent amount of stuff in there, which is always good to see. Knight gets another win on the way to Wrestlemania, but there is a very good chance that he is losing the title to the monster Fatu. For now though, they’ve done a nice job of setting it up and that’s a positive sign.

We get a preview of Tiffany Stratton talking to Wade Barrett, with the full interview airing on the Wrestlemania Kickoff Show. She’s tired of being taken advantage of so she’s retaining the title at Wrestlemania.

LWO/Rey Fenix vs. American Made

Fenix punches away at Brutus to start and takes him down with a flying headbutt. Lee comes in with a slingshot dropkick in the corner but Brutus takes him over for a tag of his own. Back up and Lee sends Julius to the floor for a big flip dive and it’s off to Mysterio vs. Gable. Mysterio chases him outside but gets pulled down…and he’s in trouble. Gable suplexes Lee inside and American Made hit a triple top rope headbutt as Mysterio can be seen limping off.

We take a break and come back with the Brutus Ball hitting Lee for two. Mysterio is gone as Lee ties American Made in the Tree Of Woe (at the same time) for a top rope triple stomp. It’s back to Fenix to clean house but Julius catches him with an overhead belly to belly. Fenix’s springboard armdrag sets up a running hurricanrana as Lee is back in to drop Julius. A top rope Meteora gives Fenix the pin at 9:10.

Rating: B-. The fact that Mysterio is gone is not a good sign and there is a strong chance that he is not going to be at Wrestlemania. Fenix taking his place would make sense if that is where they want to go, but hopefully the injury isn’t as bad as it seems. For now though, it was a fast paced match, even if it wound up being a handicap match.

Video on Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins, with the music video treatment.

Here is Cody Rhodes for his final face to face confrontation with John Cena. Before Rhodes can say anything, here is Cena to get to the point in a hurry. Cena tells him to “shut your mouth kid”, because this is going to be his last Wrestlemania. No one has had the courage to finish their career like he has, to the point where no one believes he’s really leaving. Everyone else comes back because they all need these people, but Cena has happiness on his own.

Last year, Rhodes won the title but Cena told him that it is going to get heavier every day. Cena defeated Rhodes when Rhodes said no to the Rock because it was over then. On Sunday, the title reign comes to an end when Cena proves that the fans don’t matter. Rhodes has been wanting to be somebody and on Sunday he will find out that he is just a kid playing in a man’s world. Rhodes brings up Cena saying that he doesn’t bury talent, but there is a graveyard of people who would disagree.

Cena doesn’t know the wrestlers’ names, but the reality is Cena is out of time, paler than Sting at Starrcade 1997 (WHOA!) and it’s 2025 and he still can’t wrestle. Cena says the fans don’t know what they want and he doesn’t have to wrestle to beat Rhodes. Cena goes for a shot to the face and the AA but gets reversed into Cross Rhodes. They were bringing the intensity here but they didn’t really say anything new here.

One more Wrestlemania rundown wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C+. This was exactly what you would expect here as it’s the last Smackdown before the biggest nights of the year. They had the battle royal, a few other matches, and then the big closing segment. Hopefully Mysterio is healthy enough to wrestle tomorrow, but that doesn’t seem likely based on what we saw. It’s not a particularly good show and definitely not worth seeing, but this could have been far worse.

Results
Carmelo Hayes won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal last eliminating Andrade
Street Profits vs. Motor City Machine Guns went to a double DQ when DIY interfered
Zelina Vega b. Chelsea Green – Super Code Red
LA Knight b. Solo Sikoa via DQ when Jacob Fatu interfered
LA Knight/Braun Strowman b. Solo Sikoa/Jacob Fatu – BFT to Sikoa
LWO/Rey Fenix b. American Made – Top rope Meteora to Julius Creed

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 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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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

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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Ninth Islvnd
Date: April 17, 2025
Location: Swan Dive, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Mike Wexler, Pollo del Mar

Every Wrestlemania Week I try to see what I can find from a random independent promotion and that’s what we’re doing here. This is Oasis Pro Wrestling and I know absolutely nothing else about it. I’ve glanced at the card and it looks interesting enough so let’s get to it.

We finally go to the arena a mere thirty minutes into the Youtube video (after looking at the logo all that time) and look at the card, which we can’t see because of logos on the screen. This goes on even longer as we are almost forty minutes into the video with only a few seconds’ long shot of the arena thus far.

Apparently most of the people on this show are Polynesian. So we have a theme.

The South Pacific Savages (Journey Fatu, Juicy Fatu, Iosefa Parisi) to say this show means a lot to them, though their audio gets much lower, making it a bit hard to understand them. They bring out two other men to hype up the crowd and we’re ready to go.

Tha Islandahz vs. Elliott Rey/Gigi Furiosa

This is a Dojo Showcase, because you always want to start off with your students and the Islandahz are Damu and Tui. Furiosa works on Damu in the corner but gets double teamed by the far bigger Islandahz. The audio goes way up as Furiosa fights up with a clothesline to make the tag off to Rey. An exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere so Rey runs him over. It’s back to Furiosa (del Mar: “Why?”) but Tui doesn’t want to lock up with a woman.

Eventually he does and whips her in, where Damu gets in a knee to the back. Damu pulls Furiosa down by the hair and the referee doesn’t see the tag to Rey, leaving him rather annoyed. The tag goes through a few seconds later though and it’s time to clean house. Commentary gets on Rey for playing to the crowd too much and then he clotheslines Furiosa by mistake. Tui hits a Samoan drop into a moonsault headbutt (which the camera missed) to pin Rey at 8:39.

Rating: C. I’ll give it a bit of a break because they’re students but this wasn’t exactly much to see. I mean, I’m assuming it wasn’t much to see because the camera was all over the place and it was hard to keep track of what was happening. The Islandahz were doing an impression of just about any Samoan tag team while the other two were some odd pairing who didn’t work well together. That’s not much of a start.

Hoka vs. Midas Kreed

The much bigger Hoka grabs a headlock to start but gets caught with a dropkick. A swinging neckbreaker takes Hoka down and a superkick sends him into the ropes. Hoka comes back with a clothesline for two and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up and Kreed fires off some running forearms, setting up a middle rope cutter for two. Hoka is right back up with a Boss Man Slam and a running palm strike finishes Kreed at 6:38.

Rating: C. Basic power vs. speed match here and that’s always a fine way to go. Neither of them exactly stood out here but at least I could see what was going on most of the time here. Hoka wasn’t bad and his Boss Man Slam looked good enough, to the point where it definitely should have been the finish.

Adrianna Mosley/The Samoan Reaper vs. Melanin Mafia

The rather tall Reaper’s shoulder doesn’t do much to the rather wide Sancho Dimera. It’s off to the women, with Mosley hitting a DDT on Beatrice Domino (an awesome name). Mosley sends her flying off a northern lights suplex but Domino gets in a shot of her own. The reverse chinlock doesn’t last long and it’s off to Dimera, who apparently weighs over 700lbs. Some forearms keep Mosley down and it’s back to Domino for another reverse chinlock.

Mosley fights up and strikes away, including a headbutt which the camera showing the three inch gap between them (Domino sells anyway). A clothesline puts Domino down and the double tag brings in Reaper for a side slam on Dimera. Everything breaks down and Mosley gets in a Stinkface on Domino, followed by Reaper’s running hip attack on Dimera, who will apparently eat anything. We’ll thankfully move on from that as everything breaks down and Reaper spears Dimera, with Mosley doing the same thing to Domino. Reaper’s top rope splash ends Domino at 10:24.

Rating: D. Oh yeah this really didn’t work. This was a throwback to something of a freak show match, with the massive Dimera and the large enough Mosley making for more of a “this is a weird thing to see”. The action was bad too and it made for quite a long ten minutes. This was pretty horrible and that’s not a good sign.

Sean Maluta vs. Sonico

At least I’ve heard of these two. Hold on though as here is a manager with a man named Harman Cheema. Apparently Cheema represents India so he needs to be on the show. Sure why not.

Sean Maluta vs. Harman Cheema vs. Sonico

It’s a brawl to start and Cheema goes to sit in the crowd, leaving Sonico to jump Maluta. Now Cheema comes in but gets sent outside for a dive from Sonico. Back in and Sonico hits a Swanton but gets dropped by Maluta. Cheema splashes Sonico in the corner as the fans talk about Cheema’s back hair. Maluta is helped to the back after being injured and Cheema’s manager tries to bring in a chair. Sonico takes it away and hits the manager with it before throwing it in Cheema’s direction. A brainbuster through the chair gives Sonico the pin at 6:45.

Rating: C. I’m assuming Maluta got hurt somewhere in there but this was just a bunch of spots until someone won. The chair being brought in felt like it was out of nowhere, which makes sense given how all over the place this was. Sonico and Maluta have spent some time in AEW so at least they’re decent, but you can only do so much with so little time.

Post match Sonico gets in a shot on the manager too. Commentary approves.

Afa Jr. vs. Chris Nastyy vs. Hero Leo vs. Noah Kekoa vs. Solomon Tupu vs. Valu

Afa Jr. is better known as Manu and this ring is not big enough for six people to be scrambling. Nastyy is entering himself in the match (like we saw in the previous match) because he’s 1/78th Polynesian. Nastyy gets punched and headbutted to the floor, leaving Kekoa (formerly Kona Reeves) to hit Afa low.

Nastyy gets pulled outside again and it’s Tupu coming in to forearm it out with Kekoa. Valu comes in for an exchange of shoulders with Tupu before they both shoulder Nastyy down. Afa Jr. is back in with a superkick, leaving Nastyy to get taken down with a Boss Man Slam. Afa’s top rope splash is good for the pin on Nastyy at 4:10.

Rating: D-. Again, what are you supposed to do when you have six people in a match and four minutes to do anything? Most of the people here didn’t get to stand out as the only story of the match was Nastyy getting beaten up. It was like they just did a few things until someone, in this case the biggest star, won. What fun.

Ten minute intermission, which is included in the video.

Pacific Seas Title: El Fatal vs. Gringo Loco

Fatal is defending and dropkicks him to the floor for a running flip dive. Back in and Fatal knocks him down again but gets caught with a faceplant into a superkick. A sitout exploder suplex gets two on Fatal but he kicks his way out of a waistlock. Fatal’s top rope hurricanrana drops Loco as Sonico (Fatal’s stablemate) comes out to watch. Fatal misses a corkscrew moonsault and a middle rope Canadian Destroyer gives Loco two. The referee almost gets bumped so Fatal gets in a low blow. A double underhook Codebreaker retains the title at 4:24.

Rating: C-. He’s not a huge star but Loco is at least a name. That’s one of the few things they have on this low budget show and he’s in there for about four minutes? If you want your champion to feel like a star, use the outsider you have to make him look better. That’s the idea here in theory but what are you supposed to do with less than five minutes?

Ignore commentary getting the name of the title wrong.

South Pacific Savages/Zilla Fatu vs. The Mane Event/Jack Cartwheel/Super Crazy

The rather large Crazy almost falls off the stage on the way to the ring. Mane starts fast with a moonsault onto the Savages and Crazy gets in a dive of his own. It’s a big brawl on the floor and you can’t really tell what is going on. Zilla throws a bunch of chairs and Cartwheel gets beaten down. We finally settle down to Crazy choking Parisi and hitting him with a dropkick. Juicy comes in to run the Mane Event over and Lyon has to save Black from destruction. Juicy’s top rope splash connects and Zilla gives Cartwheel a pop up Samoan drop. Black goes up but dives into a Samoan Spike to give Zilla the pin at 6:50.

Rating: F. This was barely a match as the first half or more was spent on the big wild brawl where you could barely tell what was going on. That’s in addition to Crazy looking horrible and slow, plus almost no one really getting any sort of focus. The Savages/Fatu winning was no surprise, but could you at least try having a match?

Post match Juicy thanks the fans for coming out to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. Yeah no. I get that this was a low budget show but there were some names on here with talent who could have done far better. Instead, it’s a bunch of short matches (the one match that broke ten minutes was horrible) and a total mess of a main event. It says a lot when the best thing on the show was a six minute match between two people I’ve never seen before. Really bad stuff here and that’s not a good thing to see when they’re probably getting their biggest audience ever.

Results
Tha Islandahz b. Elliott Rey/Gigi Furiosa – Moonsault headbutt to Rey
Hoka b. Midas Kreed – Palm strike
Adrianna Mosley/The Samoan Reaper b. Melanin Mafia – Top rope splash to Domino
Sonico b. Sean Maluta and Harman Cheema – Brainbuster through a chair
Afa Jr. b. Chris Nastyy, Hero Leo, Noah Kekoa, Solomon Tupu and Valu – Top rope splash to Nastyy
El Fatal b. Gringo Loco – Double underhook Codebreaker
South Pacific Savages/Zilla Fatu b. Mane Event/Jack Cartwheel/Super Crazy – Samoan Spike to Black

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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Ring Of Honor
Date: April 18, 2025
Location: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for the second Ring Of Honor show of the week as we are coming off a bonus episode yesterday afternoon. In theory, that should mean that we are in for some better than usual stuff here, with the weaker, less important stuff burned off yesterday. We are only a few weeks away from Supercard Of Honor as well so let’s get to it.

Here are yesterday’s results if you need a recap.

Bandido/Komander vs. Infantry

No entrances here, likely to hide that Komander had the TV Title when this was taped. It’s a brawl to start with Bandido slugging away at Bravo but getting taken out for a whip into the barricade. Back in and they be clubberin at Bandido in the corner before a leglock keeps him down.

A Demolition Decapitator gets two on Bandido but he gets over for the tag without much trouble. Everything breaks down and Dean is sent outside, drawing Shane Taylor up to the apron. That’s fine with Bandido, who sunset bombs Taylor onto the rest of the Promotions. Komander moonsaults onto them, leaving Bandido to hit the 21 Plex for the pin at 5:56.

Rating: C+. Bandido is the featured star of the promotion these days so of course he’s opening the show against a midcard tag team. At least he got the win, but this feels like a match that was put together before they knew Bandido was going to be the champion. If that’s the case, it makes me wonder why it still happened, but at least the right person won.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs vs. MxM Collection/Johnny TV

Rhodes and the Von Erichs are defending for the first time since July but get jumped from behind during their entrance. We get inside where TV beats on the banged up Ross and the bell officially rings. Marshall fights up and slugs away at Mansoor, setting up a Cannonball for two. Ross comes in for a rather aggressive headlock but Madden tags himself in for a Harlem Heat Heat Seeker.

Taya Valkyrie gets in some stomps on the floor and a Sidewinder gives Mansoor two. Rhodes, still banged up from the attack before the bell, is knocked down again but Marshall low bridges Madden to the floor. A clothesline gives Ross a breather but Madden pulls Marshall to the floor. The tag brings in Rhodes instead and everything breaks down, with a bulldog getting two on TV. Everything breaks down and the Collection gets a double Shattered Dreams. The Claw puts Mansoor in trouble and the Final Reckoning to TV retains the titles at 11:12.

Rating: C+. That’s what we’ve waited about eight months to see and it’s the same problem as always: Rhodes and the Von Erichs aren’t that interesting. This match was built around Rhodes getting the hot tag so he could clean house. Rhodes isn’t exactly a big enough star to make this interesting and having him hold two titles for so many months isn’t making it that much better. I’ll take this over the titles not being defended, but not by much.

Lee Johnson vs. Sammy Guevara

Blake Christian is here with Johnson. Guevara grabs a headlock to start but can’t get anywhere and they both nip up for a standoff. Back up and Guevara hits a dropkick but Christian pulls him face first onto the apron. Johnson fires off some shoulders to the ribs but Guevara fights up to knock him down. A cutter gives Guevara two and he pulls Johnson into a rollup for the pin at 5:50.

Rating: C. Guevara feels like he’s the partner you had to pick in Wrestlemania 2000’s Road To Wrestlemania mode but he actually has to have matches. That doesn’t make for the most thrilling stuff, as every bit of Guevara’s star power has gone sailing away. That’s a shame as he’s that talented, but being Dustin Rhodes’ (the main character in the game) sidekick isn’t the way to go.

Post match Christian jumps Guevara but Dustin Rhodes makes the save. Johnny TV and the MxM Collection run in for the save, as do the Von Erichs. The villains beat them down and Guevara covers Rhodes from the beating.

Video on CMLL working with Ring Of Honor, setting up Grand Slam Mexico in June.

Jon Cruz/Rosario Grillo vs. Dark Order

It’s a brawl to start with the Order cleaning house, setting up Reynolds’ running elbow in the corner to Cruz. That’s broken up and it’s off to Uno, who hits the Gory Bomb/Codebreaker combination for the pin at 3:30.

Rating: C. This really is the best they have for their Wrestlemania Week show. The Dark Order haven’t felt important in the better part of ever and putting them out there against Cruz and his partner of the week isn’t going to make that any better. The match barely had time to do anything and that might be the best way to go.

Post match the Frat House comes out, complete with recruits, who the Frat House beat up. And now, a match.

Frat House vs. Charles Mason/Love Doug/TJ Crawford

The Dark Order is watching from the aisle. The recruits are beaten down but Doug chops away for some reason, earning himself a discus lariat for the pin at 59 seconds.

Post match the beatdown continues until the Dark Order make the save. This passes for a personal feud around here.

Serena Deeb and Queen Aminata are in the first round of the Women’s Pure Title tournament. Trash talk is exchanged. There is pretty much no reason for that title to exist but here it is anyway.

Atlantis Jr./Esfinge/Fuego vs. Barbaro Cavernario/Euforia/Zandokan Jr.

We start fast with an exchange of kicks to the face and a triple sunset flip for two each. Cavernario hits a running Vader Bomb for two on Fuego. Esfinge comes in and gets beaten out to the floor rather quickly. Fuego is back in for a double dropkick and it’s Esfinge coming in to clean house.

An Alabama Slam out of the corner into a sitout powerbomb gives Zandokan two. Atlantis is there with a kick in the corner but he gets caught with a triple powerbomb. Euforia goes for Atlantis’ mask to no avail and a double dropkick puts Atlantis down again. Fuego and Esfinge hit some dives before Atlantis’ frog splash pins Euforia at 7:48.

Rating: B-. You know the same things I say about all of these CMLL six man tags? Update it to include this match. It’s an entertaining match but there is pretty much nothing that makes it stand out in any way. You have a few new names included but I lost interest in these being anything more than fun filler a long time ago. Mainly because these things have been going on that long.

Overall Rating: C. Remember that this isn’t just the best they have, but also the show after they got rid of a bunch of the filler yesterday. At the end of the day, this show feels so much like filler and there is no way around that. Instead of doing something interesting, it’s the same people doing the same stuff with Dustin Rhodes being treated as the biggest star around. There is something that could be done with this show, but this absolutely wasn’t it.

Results
Bandido/Komander b. Infantry – 21 Plex to Bravo
Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs b. MxM Collection/Johnny TV – Final Reckoning to TV
Sammy Guevara b. Lee Johnson – Rollup
Dark Order b. Jon Cruz/Rosario Grillo – Gory Bomb/Codebreaker combination to Cruz
Frat House b. Charles Mason/Love Doug/TJ Crawford – Discus lariat to Doug
Atlantis Jr./Esfinge/Fuego b. Barbaro Cavernario/Euforia/Zandokan Jr. – Frog splash to Euforia

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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Progress Chapter 179: Las Vegas
Date: April 18, 2025
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Jack Farmer, Rich Bocchini, Veda Scott

We’re back to Progress again as they are invading Wrestlemania Weekend for at least the second year in a row. This is the British promotion which has been around for quite a good while but might not be as great as it once was. I had a good time at least year’s show though and hopefully they can replicate that here. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow Progress so I apologize in advance for any plot or character points I might miss.

Opening sequence.

Lykos Gym vs. Boisterous Behavior

That would be Kid Lykos/Kid Lykos II vs. Leon Slater/Man Like DeReiss as commentary spends the introductions talking about how tired both the wrestlers/commentary teams are. Lykos II takes Slater into the corner to start but gets grabbed by the throat for his efforts. That’s broken up and Lykos comes in for his brainbuster. I know this because he shouts BRAINBUSTER, with commentary implying that it never works when he shouts like that.

DeReiss comes in and runs Lykos over to get him into the corner, meaning choking can ensue. The chinlock goes on and DeReiss puts Lykos down for two more. Lykos gets in a jawbreaker but gets pulled into something like a powerbomb. Instead of planting him though, DeReiss brings in Slater for a stomp and then just drops Lykos. Weird move. Anyway, Lykos flips over Slater out of the corner and rolls over to bring in Lykos II. Everything breaks down and Slater gives Lykos II a Lethal Combination.

Lykos II Is right back with Lo Mein Pain for two and a double kick in the corner rocks Slater again. DeReiss has to spear Lykos II into the cover for the save (that looked good) and everyone is down for a bit. DeReiss breaks up the double brainbuster and Behavior hit stereo running kicks in the corner. Lykos II gets his knees up to block DeReiss’ 450 and the super brainbuster brings Slater down in a big crash. Lykos II’s brainbuster finishes Slater at 11:23.

Rating: B-. Perfectly nice start to the show here with the Gym being a good example of what happens around here. I’m not sure I get the appeal of either Lykos but they had a nice match here, with Boisterous Behavior being solid opponents. As usual, a tag match is a good way to open a show and it worked well here.

WXW Unified World Title: 1 Called Manders vs. Marcus Mathers vs. Tate Mayfairs

Manders is defending. Mayfairs and Manders stare each other down so Mathers grabs a headlock on the Manders, which doesn’t go that well. A neckbreaker drops Manders and he rolls outside, leaving Mayfairs to take over on Mathers. Back in and Manders chops away at Mayfairs before planting Mathers as well.

Manders’ elbows miss though and he falls out to the floor, with Mathers Blue Thunder Bombing Mayfairs for two. Mayfairs drops Manders again and hits a top rope elbow for two, with Mathers making the save. Mathers cutters Mayfairs and flip dives onto Manders on the floor. Back in and Manders blasts Mathers with the lariat to retain at 8:22.

Rating: B-. Better stuff here with Manders getting to do his power stuff and fighting off the other two. Manders isn’t someone who does anything groundbreaking but he does the old cowboy style well enough that it’s rather effective. Mathers and Mayfairs were fine challengers here and all three interacted well enough.

Mike D. Vecchio vs. Kuro

Kuro knocks him to the floor to start and hits an early suicide dive before knocking Vecchio into the crowd. They go inside for some running boots to Vecchio in the corner but Vecchio kicks him down. Vecchio goes outside and catches a running flip dive (dang) for a powerbomb onto the apron. A hard forearm to the back has Kuro in more trouble, followed by a running big boot back inside. Vecchio throws him down again and hits a gutwrench helicopter bomb for the win at 7:14.

Rating: C. I’ve only seen a bit of Vecchio but his look alone is going to get him some shots. Hopefully he can get the experience and in-ring skills to back it up because that could make him quite the prospect. It was just a step above a squash, but I can go for seeing a possible star on the bigger stage.

Respect is shown post match.

Women’s Title: Vert Vixen vs. Rhio vs. Nina Samuels

Samuels is defending. Rhio wastes no time in running Vixen over for two, with Samuels hiding on the floor. They all head outside with Rhio taking over, setting up an Irish Curse to Vixen back inside. Samuels makes the save and tries to team up with Vixen, earning herself a headlock. Vixen knocks her down for two but Rhio is in for some standing switches.

Samuels knocks Vixen to the floor before sending both of them into the corner for the running knees to the back. With Vixen in trouble, Rhio is back in with a double dropkick to both of them to take over. A fisherman’s neckbreaker puts Vixen down and Samuels gets dropped as well. Vixen is back up to knock Rhio down and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Samuels.

The Game Over brainbuster gives Vixen two on Samuels with Rhio making another save. Samuels rolls Rhio up for two, even with a handful of trunks. Rhio package piledrives Samuels but Vixen pulls the referee out at two. Vixen posts Rhio but Samuels pulls her down by the hair. A powerbomb spun into a knee to the face lets Samuels retain the title at 11:44.

Rating: B-. Rhio and Vixen felt like the big grudge here and it felt like a feud that could have some legs. At the same time you had Samuels, who was in over her head but was smart enough to come in and steal some shots here and there. Having Samuels win clean in the end was a surprise, but they made it work here.

Post match Rhio package piledrives Vixen to leave her laying. That sounds rematchish.

Proteus Title: Paul Walter Hauser vs. Adam Priest vs. Charles Crowley vs. Effy vs. Simon Miller

Miller is defending and this is one fall to a finish. Hauser is better known as an Emmy Award winning actor who happens to be a huge wrestling fan. Hold on though as Crowley grabs his helmet and reaches in to pull out…a fist to punch a bunch of people. Miller knocks Crowley outside but gets caught by Effy’s atomic drop.

Effy ties Priest up in the ropes with something like a Tarantula but Crowley makes the save with a discus forearm. Hauser is up with a running flip dive off the apron, leaving Miller to hit a suicide dive onto the pile. Back in and Crowley hits a springboard cutter for two on Miller but Hauser comes in for the save. A Russian legsweep drops Effy and a middle rope headbutt gets two. Hold on though as Effy goes after Hauser’s nipples but they don’t seem to feel pain.

Effy knocks him down and hits some running seated sentons, only for a third to hit raised knees. Back in and Priest piledrives Hauser for two but Crowley clears Priest out again. Effy gives Crowley and Miller a double noggin knocker before a legdrop gets two on Miller. Back up and Miller’s spear hits Effy but Crowley comes in to mist Miller down. Hauser is up with a pop up Samoan drop to Crowley, only for Priest to hit Hauser with a chair. Priest loads up something but Hauser hits a hammerlock Downward Spiral onto the chair to pin Priest for the title at 8:48.

Rating: C+. Well. Why not? Hauser is someone who has clearly found something he loves in wrestling and is putting in the effort to turn this into something. It’s not like he’s headlining Wrestlemania or anything and this might get Progress some much needed attention. He basically won the title on a fluke and will get to hold it until they’re ready for a big deal to take it from him. It’s a nice little headline and that’s all it needed to be.

Hauser is stunned as he gets the title and poses for a bit.

Minoru Suzuki vs. Cara Noir

Somehow, I have never actually seen a Noir match. Suzuki gets the MURDER GRANDPA chant and kicks at the legs a bit before going after an armbar. Noir spins out of a headscissors and gets up so they can slowly trade chops. Suzuki pulls him down into a Fujiwara armbar and twists the fingers around.

That’s broken up and they go to the apron to slug it out, only for Suzuki to pull him into another armbar. They go outside where Noir’s arm is sent into the post, meaning it’s time for more finger twisting. Another slugout goes to Suzuki and it’s time for a seated armbar back inside. Suzuki switches over to a half crab, followed by a quickly broken ankle lock.

Noir kicks away, including a sliding kick to the face, only for Suzuki to kick him down again. They chop and forearm it out again until one big forearm puts Noir down. Back up and Noir hits an enziguri into a rear naked choke…and Suzuki flips him forward, with Noir landing ON HIS HEAD. Suzuki grabs a choke and finishes with the Gotch style piledriver at 13:34.

Rating: D+. For months, all I’ve heard about Noir is that no one wrestles like him and he can do all kinds of impressive things. All I saw here was Suzuki doing his thing and dominating Noir, who was mostly just trying to do the same thing Suzuki was doing. This didn’t show me a thing about Noir but rather that Suzuki is going to have his match and nothing else.

Progress World Title: Luke Jacobs vs. Michael Oku

Oku, with Amira, is challenging. They slug it out at the bell with Jacobs getting the better of things until a hurricanrana sends him outside. The big flip dive takes Jacobs down again but he catches another one to send Oku onto the apron. Back in and Jacobs slowly hammers away, setting up a slam to keep Oku in trouble. The crossface shots to the jaw rock Oku, who manages to come back with a missile dropkick.

A pair of DDTs gives Oku two and we slow down a bit. The half crab is broken up and Jacobs forearms the heck out of him. That just earns Jacobs an enziguri so he smashes Oku with a lariat. They go to the stage where Jacobs hits a suplex but stops to argue with Amira. That’s enough of a distraction for Oku to get a running start and hit a hue dive to drop Jacobs.

Back in and a frog splash gets two but Jacobs lariats him into a pop up powerbomb for two. The mostly out of it Oku is put on the top for a superplex, followed by a German suplex to drop Oku again. Somehow Oku is fine enough to grab a half crab, which is broken up as well so Oku blasts him with a superkick.

The frog splash sets up another half crab, with Jacobs doing a rather dramatic crawl over to the ropes. Jacobs is back up and gets taken down by a clothesline but is still able to uppercut him out of the air. A lariat gives Jacobs one, followed by another for the pin to retain at 17:08.

Rating: B. These guys told a good story out there and Jacobs got to beat a big name clean in the middle of the ring. Oku is someone who has built up a nice reputation so beating him is a nice moment for Jacobs. He’s been champion for almost a year now and there is a good chance that he’ll hold it for a few more months at least. This was a good win on a fairly big stage and that should be a nice boost for Jacobs. He doesn’t have the deepest style as he’s mainly just a powerhouse, but it still works.

Overall Rating: C+. This was just ok for the most part with only the main event really coming close to standing out. Hauser’s title win will get some attention and that’s a good move for the promotion. Other than that, pretty much nothing stands out on here and for a show where they had a different and enthusiastic audience, that isn’t the best sign. Not a bad show, but not the most thrilling effort.

Results
Lykos Gym b. Boisterous Behavior – Brainbuster to Slater
1 Called Manders b. Tate Mayfairs and Marcus Mathers – Lariat to Mathers
Mike D. Vecchio b. Kuro – Gutwrench helicopter bomb
Nina Samuels b. Rhio and Vert Vixen – Spinning knee to Vixen’s face
Paul Walter Hauser b. Adam Priest, Effy, Simon Miller and Charles Crowley – Hammerlock Downard Spiral onto a chair to Priest
Minoru Suzuki b. Cara Noir – Gotch style piledriver
Luke Jacobs b. Michael Oku – Lariat

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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Unbreakable 2025
Date: April 17, 2025
Location: Cox Pavilion, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

This is the second half of a double shot from TNA this week as we just got done with a regular Impact and now it’s a Wrestlemania Week special. This show is going to be in a weird place as it is only a little over a week away from the much bigger Rebellion show, which should make for quite the tricky rope to walk. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look at the famous Unbreakable triple threat from 2005, which is the inspiration for tonight’s triple threat for the inaugural International Title.

International Title Tournament First Round: Eric Young vs. JDC vs. Zachary Wentz

Young and JDC agree to go after Wentz to start so Wentz bails out to the floor in a smart move. Back in and Wentz dances a bit before diving onto both of them to take over. A high crossbody puts the villains down again but Young is up to go after Wentz. Young shoves Wentz at JDC, who gets dropped with a Stunner.

Wentz and Young go out to the floor with Young taking over, but he isn’t happy with JDC going after the pin. A DDT drops Young but Wentz is right there with a double missile dropkick. Wentz hits a running shooting star on JDC and an RKO on Young, the former of whom pops back up with a Falcon Arrow for two. JDC is sent outside so Young hits a Death Valley Driver on Wentz, with JDC running back in for the save. Young piledrives JDC for the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C+. They only had so much time here and this could have been on any given edition of Impact. That being said, they needed something to fill in the time so having two of the three first round matches isn’t a bad idea. Young moving forward isn’t the most interesting choice, but there is a good chance he doesn’t win anyway.

We run down the rest of the card.

International Title Tournament First Round; Ace Austin vs. Steve Maclin vs. Eddie Edwards

Alisha Edwards is here with Eddie. Austin takes over to start and the other two clothesline each other to the floor. Eddie drops Austin onto the apron to take over but the Backpack Stunner is broken up. Maclin is back in with an Irish Curse to Eddie and he fires off some running clotheslines in the corner. The KIA is broken up and Maclin is knocked to the floor, leaving Austin to roll Eddie up for two.

A jumping double stomp to the back gives Austin two as Maclin is back in for the save. Eddie is sent outside and Austin tries his apron handstand, only for Maclin to break it up with the Scud in a nice sequence. Back in and Austin hits a Tower Of Doom for two each but Alisha crotches him on top. Eddie gives Austin a spider superplex but gets caught with the spear in the corner. Alisha’s interference doesn’t work as she slaps Eddie by mistake, setting up the KIA to send Maclin to the finals at 9:55.

Rating: B-. This was a more action packed match than the opener and it worked well, with the still popular Maclin going on to the title picture. While I could have gone for Austin winning the title in Chris Bey’s honor, this was a good way to go as well. If nothing else, the System losing is always worth a look as Alisha can throw some good fits.

Frankie Kazarian is fired up for the mixed tag tonight. Tessa Blanchard says she’s coming for Masha Slamovich tonight, but at Rebellion she’s coming for the title.

Earlier today, the System interrupted the UNLV men’s ice hockey national champions. We don’t know what else they did or said, but they did in fact interrupt them.

Moose vs. ???

Non-title open challenge with former NFL star Sean Merriman on commentary and…Sidney Akeem (formerly Reggie in TNA) answering. Moose wastes no time in whipping him hard into the corner to start but Akeem kicks him in the face. That’s broken up but the chokebomb is countered into a hurricanrana. Some dropkicks stagger Moose, who throws him outside without much trouble.

Akeem is back with a dive as the UNLV hockey team is in the front row. Moose powerbombs Akeem onto the apron but yells at the hockey players, allowing Akeem to cut him down. A crossbody gives Akeem two and he snaps off a hurricanrana on the floor. Back in and Moose misses a crossbody, allowing a backflip into a cutter to put Moose down. Alisha Edwards makes the save and gets ejected, but the distraction lets Moose hit a low blow. The spear finishes Akeem at 9:02.

Rating: C+. This is how Akeem can be best used, as he got to do his high spots and flips before losing to the bigger star. Moose cutting down a traditionally flippy guy is a good way to go for his title reign and that’s the direction they seem to have been going. It’s working well, and if Akeem stays more serious like this, he’s fine for an occasional appearance.

Steve Maclin tells Eric Young it’s may the best man win tonight.

We get injury updates on Joe Hendry and Sami Callihan, both of whom are ready to go. This is one of those “make it feel like a real sport” thing and that’s fine.

Mike Santana/Hardys vs. Mustafa Ali/Nic Nemeth/Ryan Nemeth

It’s a brawl to start with the good guys clearing the ring until Santana drives Ryan into the corner to get things going. Ryan fights back but gets caught in a powerbomb faceplant. Matt comes in to send Ali face first into the buckle over and over until Ali flips over him. Ali trips him into the ropes and it’s Matt getting caught in the wrong corner.

Nic comes in with a neckbreaker and the chinlock goes on. Matt fights up and breaks out but a distraction means the referee doesn’t see the tag to Santana. The referee does see a tag to Ryan, sending Hannifan into a rant about the referee being stupid. Ali cuts Matt off again but gets caught in the Side Effect, allowing the tag to Jeff.

A double Whisper in the Wind takes the Nemeths down and it’s time for the parade of knockdowns. Santana grabs Ali and turns the rolling neckbreaker into a Death Valley Driver. The two of them brawl to the back but Santana comes back with Spin The Block to Nic. The Twist Of Fate into the Swanton finishes Ryan at 12:36.

Rating: B-. I love seeing two feuds combined like this and it worked rather well here. The Hardys beating the Nemeths is a fine way to go and the tease of Santana vs. Ali makes things that much better. Both of the big matches will take place next week and I’m curious to see how they go, making this a perfectly fine preview.

The System jumps Zachary Wentz.

Victoria Crawford (Alicia Fox) and Debbie Gibson (Debbie Gibson) are here.

Joe Hendry/Masha Slamovich vs. Tessa Blanchard/Frankie Kazarian

The men start things off but we pause for Kazarian to be announced as the King Of TNA. Hendry whips him into the corner and hits a jumping knee, with Kazarian bailing to the floor. Slamovich knocks him right back inside (before glaring at Blanchard), where Hendry’s bad shoulder is good enough for a delayed vertical suplex.

Kazarian gets smart by going after the arm and stops to mock the rhythmic clapping. It’s off to Slamovich, who sends Blanchard outside. A quick suicide dive drops Blanchard again but she’s right back with some choking back inside. Kazarian hits the jumping Fameasser on the middle rope and Slamovich is in trouble again. Blanchard hits a cutter on Slamovich as Kazarian taunts Hendry with the Call Your Shot trophy.

Slamovich manages a shot on Kazarian but Blanchard is in for an exchange of basement dropkicks. That’s enough for the tag off to Hendry and house is quickly cleaned. Fade To Black is countered into an Angle Slam to give Hendry two but the shoulder is starting to bother him. The chickenwing is countered into a rollup for two but Blanchard is back in to grab Hendry. Kazarian clotheslines her by mistake and the Standing Ovation finishes Kazarian at 14:10.

Rating: C+. This was the same idea as the previous match, as they tied two feuds into one match and even gave us some intergender matches. That’s not a bad way to go and the ending leaves me curious about a title change, as Kazarian losing is something of a red flag. Blanchard vs. Slamovich feels like a huge match and I’m really not sure where it goes, which is a nice feeling to have.

Mike Santana wants Mustafa Ali at Rebellion and Santino Marella seems interested.

Here is Ace Austin….who brings out Chris Bey for a special appearance in his hometown. Bey walks out, with Austin shouting ON HIS OWN TWO FEET! Bey says he IS the Ultimate Finesser and 172 days ago, he broke his neck in the ring. It was embarrassing him because he wanted to finish the match for the fans. He was able to quickly have surgery and learned to walk again.

Austin was there with him every day and Bey had to remember who he was. Thanks to the fans at home and the people in that locker room, he is able to walk again. Bey had to remind himself that he is unbreakable, just like TNA. This is the greatest story ever told and thank you. They get to do their pose and the show needs to just end now, because nothing is topping this. That’s absolutely incredible and one of the coolest things I’ve seen in wrestling in a long time.

We recap Mance Warner vs. Sami Callihan. They’ve been fighting for weeks so now it’s Barbed Wire Massacre. As it tends to be.

Sami Callihan vs. Mance Warner

There are all kinds of barbed wire items around ringside and Steph de Lander is here with Warner. Callihan, dressed as Mankind, sends Warner through a barbed wire board to start and then hits him with a barbed wire bat. A barbed wire Nintendo 64 controller goes to Warner’s head (must be Strong Grapple + Down + B) but he comes back with a door shot.

Warner uses a barbed wire chair to drive the board into Callihan but he sends Warner back into the barbed wire around the ropes. A barbed wire ball to the head has Warner bleeding even more and a low blow makes it worse. The Cactus Driver 97 through a barbed wire door is countered into a spinebuster and Callihan is in trouble again. They shout at each other from their knees until Callihan Stunners him onto the barbed wire, which shouldn’t make much of a difference.

The wire is wrapped around Warner’s arm and it’s time for a bag of salt. We’ll hold onto that for a second though as Callihan would rather staple Warner’s tongue to a board. Then he uses a barbed wire chair to the head to break it up. The salt shot is broken up with a low blow so Warner throws the salt into Callihan’s face instead. Warner grabs a screwdriver but Callihan is back with a spike and they stab each other in the head. Callihan whips out a sock for a barbed wire Mandible Claw. The Cactus Driver 97 onto the barbed wire finishes Warner at 19:23.

Rating: D+. Yeah ok. This was as advertised and in this case that’s not the best thing to see. It’s fine for what it is, but having that much barbed wire and over the top violence isn’t my thing. It only works so well and having Callihan dressed as Mankind only made me want to watch him do a hardcore match at a much higher level. I get that this has an audience, but it’s not for me.

We run down the Rebellion card.

Here is Elijah for a chat. Well a song actually, as he talks about his open challenge at Rebellion. In TNA, we walk this way.

We look at the first round of the International Title tournament.

International Title: AJ Francis vs. Steve Maclin vs. Eric Young

For the inaugural title. Francis is knocked to the floor, leaving Young to elbow Maclin in the face. Another forearm takes Francis down but he’s back in for an Alabama Slam to send Young onto Maclin. Francis gives Maclin a running knee in the corner and goes for a walk outside, where he cuts off Maclin’s dive. Young gets powerbombed onto the apron and, after tying his shoe, Francis sends Maclin back inside for a Death Valley Driver.

Maclin manages a running knee into an Angle Slam for two on Francis, who is back with a powerbomb for two of his own. Young is back in to slug it out with Maclin on top so Francis gives them a double AA for two each. Francis’ moonsault misses though and Young is sent outside. Maclin ties Francis in the Tree of Woe for the running shoulder, setting up the KIA for the pin and the title at 13:39.

Rating: C+. It was a fine enough match, but this really didn’t feel like any kind of a special showdown. I get trying to tie it into the original Unbreakable, but the second you start bringing that match up, you’re putting yourself in an unreasonable circumstance. That’s what we had here, and it made for a match that while entertaining, never lived up to its hype.

Maclin celebrates.

The Nemeths get a note from Matt Hardy, who appears via hologram to invite them to the Hardy Compound for DELETION. Can we please just NOT DO THIS AGAIN?

Overall Rating: C+. A lot of this is going to depend on your taste in Callihan vs. Warner, which went on far longer than anything else on the show. That dragged things down, but Bey’s return was one of the best things I can remember seeing in wrestling (or anywhere) for a long time. For a bonus show, this was perfectly fine, but Rebellion is going to have a bit more pressure on it now and that’s not a great thing. That being said, I do like having TNA getting involved in Wrestlemania Weekend, as they’re more than big enough to warrant a spot there.

Results
Eric Young b. JDC and Zachary Wentz – Piledriver to JDC
Steve Maclin b. Ace Austin and Eddie Edwards – KIA to Edwards
Moose b. Sidney Akeem – Spear
Hardys/Mike Santana b. Mustafa Ali/Nic Nemeth/Ryan Nemeth – Swanton to Ryan
Joe Hendry/Masha Slamovich b. Tessa Blanchard/Frankie Kazarian – Standing Ovation to Kazarian
Sami Callihan b. Mance Warner – Cactus Driver 97 onto barbed wire
Steve Maclin b. Eric Young and AJ Francis – KIA to Francis

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