Wrestlemania XLII Night One
Date: April 18, 2026
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We have arrived. After a less than great build and some questionable choices, it’s time for the biggest weekend of the wrestling year. No matter what happens here, this is a special event and we have Cody Rhodes defending the Smackdown World Title against Randy Orton in the main event. Let’s get to it.

The opening video, as narrated by Lin-Manuel-Miranda, talks about the memories and moments that are made at Wrestlemania. Years from now, our children will ask us where we were when things happened at this show. Heck of an opener here and it still worked even though it aired on Smackdown last night.

Here is John Cena as the host. He seems actually taken aback by the reception and then talks about how the Road To Wrestlemania has been rough this year. As Michael Cole has said, it’s been polarizing, but the important thing is that we’re here now. Cena getting emotional was a great thing to see as you can tell this means a lot to him.

Usos/LA Knight vs. Vision/IShowSpeed

The Usos come through the crowd and Knight comes to the stage in a customized truck. The Vision and Speed have a unique entrance of their own, as they have nine different camera angles shown at once to cover everything. We officially start and the Vision is knocked to the floor, leaving Speed alone with Knight. Speed’s headlock doesn’t work as Knight just stands up and walks around with him, sending Speed running off.

Knight stomps on Paul in the corner and it’s back to the Usos for a double elbow. Theory comes in off a blind tag though and jumps Jimmy so the villains can take over. The stomping has Jimmy in trouble but he fights back on Paul and gets over to Jey. Theory comes in as well and gets punched in the face, followed by the spear. Paul dives in for the save and everything breaks down, with Speed snapping off a headscissors. Speed accidentally knocks Paul down so Theory tells at him, only for Knight to send them into each other. The BFT finishes Theory at 7:07.

Rating: C+. It’s no classic, but it did exactly what it needed to do. They go the celebrity in there and he didn’t embarrass himself, with Knight getting the pin in the end. It’s just a basic match, but I do like the idea of taking something simple and doing it well. Nice enough here and that’s a good way to start the show.

Post match Paul yells at Speed and drops him with the metal fist. Paul loads up the announcers’ table but Jimmy and Knight make the save. Knight helps him up and Speed goes up top for the huge splash through the announcers’ table.

Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu

Unsanctioned. Fatu comes out with fire dancers while McIntyre knocks down a stone wall and walks through the hole. The entrances take a long time so Fatu dives onto McIntyre to start fast. The weapons are thrown in early on but Fatu is smart enough to knock McIntyre down again. It takes too long to get a toolbox though and McIntyre decks him from behind. A catapult sends Fatu face first into the bottom of the ring and it’s time for a table.

Actually it’s time for McIntyre to continue his tradition of tweeting during a match, which allows Fatu to fight back. A pop up Samoan drop gives Fatu two but McIntyre knocks him down again. The chair is loaded up in the corner but they both avoid going into it. Instead Fatu misses a charge and goes face first into the post, allowing McIntyre to suplex him down. McIntyre gets knocked back down though and Fatu’s triple jump moonsault connects….for two.

McIntyre finds a piece of metal to jab into Fatu’s head and then sends him onto some open chairs for two more. That’s not ok with McIntyre, who grabs the referee’s belt, only to walk into a superkick. Fatu chairs him in the back a few times and now it’s his turn with the belt. The whipping ensues so Fatu goes to grab the toolbox, allowing McIntyre to hit a Claymore for two.

McIntyre screams at the referee some more but loses a slugout with Fatu, who fires off some headbutts. Fatu puts him on a table and hits him with a chair to keep him down. That doesn’t really work either as McIntyre is right back up to hit him with a chair as well. Fatu is shoved off the top and through a table at ringside, which somehow doesn’t do much to slow him down. Back in and Fatu hits him in the head with the toolbox, setting up the triple jump moonsault through the table to finish McIntyre at 14:17.

Rating: B. That’s what this should have been, as Fatu survived everything a former multiple time World Champion threw at him and then finished him off. Some of the no selling and things that were shrugged off were a bit much, but that was how the match needed to go. Fatu gets probably the biggest win of his career and can move on to…whatever is next, just like McIntyre. Good brawl.

We run down the remaining card.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Bella Twins vs. Irresistible Forces vs. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria

The Forces are defending, there is one from each team in at all times and it’s one fall to a finish. Actually hang on as Nikki Bella says she can’t get medically cleared so she’s called in an old friend. And PAIGE is back, which is great to see after how bad her neck has been over the years. It’s a brawl to start with Jax taking over, only to get knocked outside by Charlotte.

Brie’s chops don’t get her very far as Valkyria hits a dropkick. Back up and Brie kicks away at Valkyria and Charlotte but the tag to Paige is cut off. Legend takes Brie outside for a drop onto the apron, leaving Bayley to middle rope elbow Bliss. Legend is back in to start taking over but she gets pulled out of the corner, allowing Brie to hit a middle rope dropkick. The tag brings in Paige, who strikes away at Jax and cleans house as everything breaks down.

The Paige Turner connects with Bayley making the save. A Lash Extension hits Valkyria so another save is made. Legend is knocked outside so it’s off to Paige vs. Charlotte for a big showdown. Paige wins the slugout and gets two off a small package. Charlotte is sent outside where Nikki beats on her with the crutch. Bliss tries Twisted Bliss but hits raised knees. The Rampaige gives Paige the pin and the titles at 8:29.

Rating: C-. Well that happened. As usual, these matches are kind of all over the place and it’s just a collection of spots that only kind of tie together. The ending was all about the big moment of the Bellas and Paige getting a special win. I’m not big on the Bellas, but it is good to have Paige back. Other than that, this was just kind of a mess with way too much going on to have a coherent match.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee

Lee is defending and comes out with an army of school girls dressed like her and carrying replica belts. On the other hand, Lynch is played to the ring live for a pair of cool entrances. Lynch is ticked off to start and gets sent outside, with Lee’s dive being powerslammed into the barricade. Back in and Lynch puts her down again and goes to take the turnbuckle pad off. The referee (Jessika Carr, who has had issues with Lynch) calls her insane and ties it back up.

Lee uses the delay to fight back for two but the Black Widow is countered. Lee’s standing Sliced bread connects but the Shining Wizard is countered into a powerbomb for two. A quick Black Widow attempt is swung into the corner and the Manhandle Slam gives Lynch two. Lynch gets into it with the referee again and they shove each other, allowing Lee to grab a Manhandle Slam for two of her own.

Lee grabs the Black Widow so Lynch pulls the hair to escape. The referee checks on Lee so Lynch gets the buckle off and pulls the referee over. That’s enough of a distraction for Lee to be sent into the buckle, setting up the Manhandle Slam to give Lynch the title back at 8:18.

Rating: C+. This felt like it should have been a Raw main event more than big time Wrestlemania title match. The stuff with the referee did fit well with the story, but these two just don’t have the best chemistry. Lee can go away for a bit again and come back to do something fresh, as anything she does now is pretty much bonus money. Lynch has a bunch of people who can come after the title, so this is the right result after an ok match.

Gunther vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins’ eyes are blacked out for a cool look. Gunther jumps him from behind before the bell though and hits the dropkick into the powerbomb to send him outside. Rollins goes to the eyes when they get outside and throws some chairs at Gunther as the bell hasn’t rung yet. Rollins flips him off and they get inside, with the bell ringing and Rollins taking over. Gunther gets knocked down again and stomped in the head but knocks Rollins down for a breather.

The pace slows way down and Gunther stands on Rollins’ head before trying a delayed vertical superplex. That’s broken up though and Rollins somehow gets him up for the Buckle Bomb. It’s too early for the Stomp so Rollins hits a clothesline and they’re both down. They kick away at each other until Rollins wins a chop off, only to get powerbombed for two more.

Gunther slowly hammers away but the clothesline is countered into a failed Pedigree attempt. Rollins hits a knee but the Pedigree is blocked again, only for tries it again and connects (though it didn’t look great). A Stomp gives Rollins two but Gunther pulls him into the sleeper. Rollins manages to get out and they trade big shots, with Gunther’s clothesline putting Rollins down.

Gunther takes too long going up though and gets superplexed into a Falcon Arrow for two. Rollins gets his own sleeper to send Gunther to the ropes and then out to the floor. The suicide dive is blocked and Gunther powerbombs him onto the apron and announcers’ table. Rollins shakes that off and counters the powerbomb into a Pedigree on the table. The Stomp drives Gunther into the table…and Bron Breakker is back with a Super Spear to Rollins. Back in and the sleeper finishes Rollins at 15:53.

Rating: B+. This took time to get going but they wound up having a heck of a fight. Gunther winning is fine as Rollins can get back to Breakker, where he belongs. Gunther is probably getting ready to retire Brock Lesnar at Summerslam so he needs all the build he can get. Good match here, despite a slow start.

Post match Breakker glares at Rollins…and runs all the way down the ramp to spear him again. Breakker hugs Paul Heyman as he leaves.

We meet the Hall Of Fame class:

Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant (biggest match ever so that fits)
AJ Styles (yep)
Demolition (as overdue as it gets)
Dennis Rodman (someone had to get the celebrity spot)
Sycho Sid (how was he not in already)
Bad News Brown (put him in or he might hurt you)
Stephanie McMahon (yeah she’s probably still talking too)

Raw Women’s Title: Liv Morgan vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Morgan is challenging and basically does the music video to Trouble down the ramp. Vaquer goes after after her to start and Morgan is in early trouble. The Devil’s Kiss is blocked though and Morgan is right back up with a Backstabber. Morgan loads up her own Devil’s Kiss but Vaquer is grabs an SVB for two.

Vaquer hits her own Oblivion for two but here is Roxanne Perez for the distraction, allowing Raquel Rodriguez to knock Vaquer off the top. Oblivion gives Morgan two but Vaquer is back to dive onto Rodriguez and Perez. Morgan is up to send her into the steps though and a middle rope Codebreaker knocks Vaquer silly. Another Oblivion gives Morgan the title back at 6:52.

Rating: C+. Well that was quick. I’m not sure why they were flying through this match so fast but it didn’t feel like they had time to really do anything. At the same time, Vaquer only had so much of a chance in this one as Morgan has been on fire as of late. You could only stretch that out so far, as this was pretty much all about Morgan getting her coronation and it wasn’t a secret.

Here is John Cena for the attendance announcement: 50,816. Last year both nights had over 60,000.

Hold on though as here is Bianca Belair for a surprise. Belair says they need to add one more to that list and opens her rather feathery blue attire to reveal that she’s pregnant. Yeah ok that’s awesome.

We recap Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton. They were close back in the day and Rhodes considers him his mentor. Then Orton won the Elimination Chamber to get the title shot and Rhodes wants the old Orton, who listens to those voices. Orton turned evil thanks to someone calling him, who was revealed to be Pat McAfee of all people. This resulted in Orton attacking Rhodes to quite the positive reaction and beating up Jelly Roll. Yeah see why this has been kind of a mess?

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton

Rhodes is defending and his entrance is…a lot. He has basically a museum of his previous ring gear and clips of him in it before rising up through the stage as he does for big matches. Pat McAfee is here with Orton and handles Orton’s entrance. Also of note, not counting the Big Match Intros or the pre-match video, from the time McAfee’s name appeared on the Titantron to the end of Rhodes’ music: 15:18, or 35 seconds shorter than the longest match of the show.

McAfee jumps Rhodes before the bell but Rhodes fights back and sends Orton outside. Cross Rhodes takes McAfee out and here is Jelly Roll to put him through the announcers’ table. McAfee is taken out on a stretcher as Cole talks about Orton possibly having a back injury. As McAfee is wheeled out, he gives a thumbs up in a great moment. The bell actually rings and they fight over a top wristlock, which is quite the way to go for this kind of a feud.

Back up and Orton tries the over the back backbreaker…but he’s hurt. A poke to the eye lets Orton grab a chinlock but Rhodes fights up and puts him down again. That sends Orton out to the floor for a breather so Rhodes sends him back inside for a half crab. With that broken up, Rhodes switches to a waistlock but Orton fights out and…needs some time. Orton takes him up top for a superplex and then hits the powerslam, allowing him to shake his back a bit.

The hanging DDT slows Orton down again but the RKO is blocked. Rhodes sends him outside, where Orton cuts off a suicide dive. Orton drops him onto the announcers’ table for another breather but Rhodes stops him with a posting. Back in and Rhodes starts in with a few stomps (it looks like he’s trying a Garvin Stomp but doesn’t quite know how to do it). The Disaster Kick gets two so Rhodes rubs the blood on his own chest. A hanging DDT gives Rhodes two but Orton is back with a Cross Rhodes for two of his own.

The RKO is countered into a backslide to give Rhodes two, followed by an RKO to Orton for two more. They head outside again with a ticked off Rhodes being dropped onto the announcers’ table. Back in and a quick RKO gives Orton two and they slowly slug it out. Rhodes goes to the eye so Orton RKO’s the referee but the low blow is blocked. Rhodes kicks Orton low but the Cody Cutter is countered into an RKO. Cue Pat McAfee with a referee shirt (and a neck brace) to count two. That means an RKO to McAfee, allowing Rhodes to hit Cross Rhodes to retain at 23:40.

Rating: C. Well, it got better near the end (it couldn’t have gotten much worse) and Rhodes seemingly got rid of McAfee for good so we’ll call that a win. I still have no idea what is going on or how this is supposed to make sense, but I don’t think WWE is quite sure either. This felt like “throw a bunch of stuff out there and hope they’re confused enough by the time we’re done”, which is quite the way to go for the main event. It turned into a better match near the end and that was enough to save it (kind of) but wow this was a mess.

The problem is that’s just the insanity that went with it, as you also have the majority of the match being Rhodes working on the back in slow motion. I’d assume there’s a bit of truth to Orton being hurt but nothing terrible, which just leaves me wondering why they went in this direction. It’s not some terrible match overall, but sweet goodness it’s an amazing spectacle of nuttiness.

Post match Rhodes celebrates but Orton takes the title from him. A belt shot drops Rhodes and Orton Punts him before holding the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was ok enough for the most part, but as usual these two night Wrestlemanias just feel incomplete when you watch them this way. It’s a mixture of there being too much for one night but not enough for two and that leaves you with stuff like this, with short matches and some very questionable nuttiness.

Rollins vs. Gunther and Fatu vs. McIntyre were both good, but wow those things were few and far between. It’s not awful, but as usual it leaves you with a “that’s it?” feeling as there is so much left tomorrow. Overall, the good outweighs the bad and….whatever that main event was supposed to be, but just barely.

Results
LA Knight/Usos b. IShowSpeed/Vision – BFT to Theory
Jacob Fatu b. Drew McIntyre – Triple jump moonsault through a table
Brie Bella/Paige b. Irresistible Forces, Bayley/Lyra Valkyria and Charlotte/Alexa Bliss – Rampaige to Bliss
Becky Lynch b. AJ Lee – Manhandle Slam
Gunther b. Seth Rollins – Sleeper
Liv Morgan b. Stephanie Vaquer – Manhandle Slam
Cody Rhodes b. Randy Orton – Cross Rhodes

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

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Well, here we go. It’s the biggest weekend of the year and…yeah the build for this one hasn’t been great. There are good parts to it, but a lot of what we’ve been seeing has been a bit less than a success. The ticket sales haven’t been great either, likely due to a variety of reasons. Hopefully they can make the wrestling side of things work and that’s what we’re looking at here. Let’s get to it.

Vision/IShowSpeed vs. Usos/LA Knight

So we’re starting with the celebrity match as Speed is dealing with Danhausen’s curse (assuming there is one) and accidentally got himself into this match as a result. Speed thinks he’s ready despite not being a wrestler, though almost everyone else thinks he’s going to get destroyed. This feels like a way to just get people on the show and I’ll take that over some multiman mess.

In theory (as opposed to Theory), this is one sided on paper and while Speed will get to do a thing or two, I can’t possibly imagine the villains win. I’ll take Knight and the Usos winning here as a way to get the crowd going in the right way. They’re a combination of popular stars against some unliked villains and that should be a simple enough formula. Knight and the Usos win a fun one here.

Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre

For the second year in a row, McIntyre is in a match with a monster which should be incredibly physical. Last year it was a street fight and this year it’s unsanctioned, meaning things should get nuts. That’s where Fatu should thrive and McIntyre can more than hang in a hard hitting match. They hate each other over previous brawls and it’s time for revenge all around.

I’ll go with Fatu here, as he needs the win a lot more than McIntyre, who has had all kinds of moments. Fatu is getting a chance for his first big personal feud match on the major stage and it wouldn’t make a ton of sense to have him lose. These two should beat the fire out of each other until one of them can’t get up anymore and in this case, the one who can’t get up should be McIntyre.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: AJ Lee(c) vs. Becky Lynch

This feud has shown just how good Lynch can be when she goes insane and acts like a raving lunatic, but she has more recently switched into someone who just wants her title back. On the other hand you have Lee, who returned last week and is basically playing with the house’s money. That makes for a good enough story, as this feels like a personal feud where two people want to get at each other, however they choose to do that.

I’m really not sure who wins this one. Lee is doing well in her return and while it makes sense for her to keep it going, I’m not sure I can imagine Lynch losing again. I’ll go with a tentative pick of Lee winning, but this one has me rather confused. It could go either way and while that is usually a good feeling, I’m really not sure how this is going to go. It might wind up being one of the weaker matches, though we’ll say Lee retains either way.

Raw Women’s Title: Stephanie Vaquer(c) vs. Liv Morgan

Morgan won the Royal Rumble (after coming close so many times) and it wasn’t clear which champion she would choose. Eventually she and Vaquer argued enough that Morgan made her choice and it’s turned into a heck of a heated feud, as Morgan seems ready to smash through Vaquer. At the same time Vaquer is just kind of there, feeling like a total afterthought most of the time.

In what might be the easiest pick of the weekend, I’ll take Morgan to win the title here. There is pretty much no reason to believe that Vaquer is going to keep the title. As much as I like Vaquer, Morgan is just that much bigger of a star and it fits so much more to have her win. It’s a good match, but the fans want to cheer Morgan and they’ll get a chance when she wins the title here.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Irresistible Forces(c) vs. Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria vs. Bella Twins

So here we have a question mark, as Nikki Bella is injured and might not be able to work the match. That leaves things a lot more wide open, as the Bellas winning the titles felt like the logical ending. If they can’t go though, it makes things a lot more interesting. It helps that you have three teams who could all conceivably leave as champions and the match has been put together rather well.

I’ll throw in an asterisk here, saying that if the Bellas are in then they win, but if they aren’t then the champions retain. The good thing here is I could easily see any of them leaving with the titles, which is more than you get to say about a lot of matches. Bayley and Valkyria feel like dark horses, but I’ll take the Bellas as the favorites but the Forces as the best alternative option. Somehow, this is one of the best built matches on the card and that’s a nice thing to see.

Seth Rollins vs. Gunther

Gunther jumped Rollins to save Paul Heyman a few weeks back, setting up the proverbial “you owe me a favor”. While that sounds like Gunther vs. Brock Lesnar in the latter’s retirement match this year at Summerslam, there is a bit more to it. Gunther has said that he wants to face Rollins because Rollins was all goofy while Gunther wanted to face the best competition in the world and it offended him. That might sound a bit ridiculous, but it makes complete sense for Gunther.

As for a winner…geez this could go either way. Rollins is fresh off his injury and in theory you would want to see him get the big win, but I’m also not sure how logical it is to have Gunther lose here. I’ll go with Rollins winning, as in theory Gunther will be rebuilt on his way to the match with Lesnar (assuming it happens, which it should) later on this year. This could go either way though and it has a lot of potential to be awesome.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes(c) vs. Randy Orton

We had to get here eventually. This is a match that was going in a weird direction as the fans did not want to boo Orton no matter what. Then Pat McAfee was revealed to be the man influencing Orton and…well they still wouldn’t boo Orton, but they certainly would boo McAfee. I’m not even sure if WWE knows what they’re doing with this story but it’s what we’re getting for a main event. There is also a stipulation that if Orton doesn’t win, McAfee leaves wrestling. Just in case you needed anything to tip this further.

Yeah of course I’m taking Orton here, as there is no reason to suggest that Rhodes retains and gets rid of McAfee. Rhodes has been in something of a holding pattern for a long time as he isn’t doing anything different lately and that needs a shake up. The fans want to see Orton win and while I’m not sure where it goes after that, Orton should win here and move on to whatever he’s doing next.

Overall Thoughts

As risky as it might be to say this, I’m kind of digging this show’s card. They’ve got some interesting stuff here and if these matches deliver, it could be an awesome first half. That being said, the main event has all the signs of being a train wreck and could drag things way down. We’ll call this one cautious optimism though and hope for the best, which has gotten me in trouble before.

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

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Wrestlemania XLI Night One
Date: April 19, 2025
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Attendance: 58,538
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett, Pat McAfee
God Bless America: Jelly Roll

It’s kind of hard to fathom that we’re a whole year removed from this show but here we are again. The show is in (or near) Las Vegas and as usual it’s a double night spectacle, with the first main event seeing Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk in a rare non-title match. Gunther vs. Jey Uso will handle the title match aspect so let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the influence of Wrestlemania and how many people talk about wrestling. HHH narrates about these legendary stories, but sometimes they’re true.

Here is HHH to welcome us to the show and let us know we are being seen worldwide.

A DJ and some dancers are here.

Raw World Title: Jey Uso vs. Gunther

Uso is challenging after winning the Royal Rumble. We get some people waving YEET flags on the ramp and the Las Vegas Raiderettes as Uso comes into the stadium with tens of thousands of people doing the YEET dance. There is a great shot from just over Uso’s shoulder showing what he’s seeing and my goodness it’s always cool to see this kind of thing happening because of one person.

After they Big Match Intros, they take their time to start until Gunther powers him into the corner. That earns Gunther a heck of a shot to the face to send him outside. Back in and Gunther takes him down with a headlock takeover, which doesn’t last long either. The threat of an enziguri sends Gunther outside again and we slow back down. Gunther gets back in and Uso grabs a slam before going up, where Gunther chops his soul out to the floor.

The slow chopping ensues but Uso hits a quick spear for two. Gunther is back up to try a powerbomb, which is countered into a Samoan drop. Uso goes up again and gets superplexed down, setting up the powerbomb for two. That leaves Gunther more than a bit surprised and Uso spears his way out of trouble again. The Superfly Splash gives Uso two so Gunther teases walking out.

It’s enough of a distraction for Gunther to get in a belt shot and the top rope splash for two. NOW Gunther is getting serious and we hit the sleeper. Somehow Uso makes the rope and Gunther is just mad. Uso is down in the corner so Gunther chops him anyway, which has Uso laughing (must be a family thing).

More chops don’t keep Uso down as he comes back with a headbutt. Uso has to counter a sleeper into a German suplex but Gunther is right back with the big dropkick. Another powerbomb is countered into one from Uso though and he drops Gunther with a spear. Back to back to back Superfly Splashes set up a sleeper and Gunther actually taps (and quickly too) to make Uso champion at 16:20.

Rating: B. This turned into a heck of a match with Uso throwing everything back at Gunther and beating him at his own game. At the same time, I couldn’t believe that Uso actually won the title but that is exactly what happened. They made a new big star with a clean submission in the middle of the ring. Good opener here but an awesome moment which had to happen after the way Uso was built up in the previous weeks.

Post match Jimmy Uso is the first person out to celebrate with Jey and they leave through the crowd.

We recap the War Raiders defending the Raw Tag Team Titles against the New Day. After New Day had some issues, Big E. tried to get them back on the right track but they turned him down, with New Day’s heel turned earning them a full on shunning from the crowd. This included their FAMILIES, as everyone hated them over their actions, down to Kofi Kingston’s mother walking out on him. They got a title shot anyway so here we go.

Raw Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. War Raiders

New Day is challenging and jump the champs tost art fast. Erik doesn’t care for being punched in the face and rams Kingston into Woods. That’s enough to send New Day outside, where Erik slams Ivar onto the two of them. Ivar crushes both of them against the ring video board and it’s back to Erik vs. Woods inside.

A belly to back suplex/top rope splash combination gets two on Woods but he’s able to cut off Erik’s dive. Kingston adds a top rope backsplash to Erik and we settle down to Kingston hammering away. Woods’ top rope double stomp hits Erik in the ropes but Erik fights out of the corner. It’s back to Ivar to clean house, including sitting on Kingston’s chest out of the corner. Kingston comes back with a spinning kick to the head but Ivar runs Kingston over without much trouble.

The Honor Roll connects for Woods and the Daybreak is loaded up. Erik cuts that one off and Erik kicks Kingston in the face. The Doomsault hits Kingston so Woods makes the save with the Limit Break Elbow. Another Honor Roll is broken up though and Erik hits a heck of a running knee. The springboard clothesline/German suplex combination is broken up though and the Daybreak finishes Ivar for the pin (with Kingston holding the leg) and the titles at 9:17.

Rating: B-. This was better than I remembered, though that might be due to not having to watch a dull build up to the match. The tag division was just nothing and unfortunately there wasn’t much of a reason to care. The big heel turn came from the turn on Big E., but that was several months ago. You can only get so far after that much time and it didn’t help that Big E. had no involvement. It’s a rare case where the time has helped a lot and that’s a nice relief.

Post match New Day runs out before they get destroyed again.

We recap Jade Cargill vs. Naomi. Last fall, someone attacked Cargill and put her out of actions for months. She came back at Elimination Chamber and it wound out that it was Naomi. Cargill was ready to wreck Naomi, while Bianca Belair was rather upset by everything Naomi did too. Now, as expected, it’s time for revenge.

Naomi vs. Jade Cargill

We get a celebrity cameo as….a meteorologist from the Weather Channel says we have a perfect storm in Las Vegas. From Muhammad Ali to this people. Cargill powers her into the corner to start and gets in a slam off the top. Naomi gets in a shot to the eyes though and snaps the throat across the ropes. A ram into the steps has Cargill staggered, with Naomi hitting a Blockbuster onto the floor.

Back in and Naomi grabs a chinlock while cranking on the arm as well. Cargill gets up and tosses her into the corner for a splash but charges into a raised boot. Naomi tries another Blockbuster but gets pulled out of the air into a Jackhammer, because that’s something a human can do.

Naomi fights back and goes up again but gets caught again. This time Naomi is able to bulldog Cargill off the top though and a split legged moonsault gives Cargill two. Jaded is reversed into a rollup and Cargill powers out of the Rings Of Saturn. Cargill pulls her into an electric chair and spins it into a powerbomb, followed by Jaded for the pin at 9:25.

Rating: B-. There were some sloppy moments in there, but Cargill looked like an absolute star. The power game she has is off the charts and she looks like a Greek statue come to life. Naomi was in over her head here with the power and athleticism, as the experience wasn’t enough to carry her. Nice stuff here, as Cargill felt like a monster in a great way.

We recap LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu. Knight is the very popular US Champion and Fatu is the new smashing machine. I don’t know Knight’s chances.

US Title: LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu

Fatu is challenging and Knight rides onto the stage in a rather expensive looking card. Knight grabs a neckbreaker for two but Fatu grabs a backbreaker to take over. The pace slows down a lot with Fatu hammering away, only to be knocked outside. Knight’s dropkick through the ropes connects but Fatu suplexes him out of the air for two back inside. The running backsplash hits raised knees though and Knight hits a standing top rope elbow for two.

Fatu runs him right back over and goes up, with Knight breaking up the moonsault. That lets Knight grab a top rope flipping German superplex for the big crash as Fatu is actually reeling. Naturally he shrugs that off and huts the running Umaga Attack in the corner, followed by a Swanton for two more. The triple jump moonsault is loaded up but Knight grabs him out of the air with the BFT (and nailed it) for the rather near fall. Knight is stunned and goes up, only to get Samoan dropped down. A pair of moonsaults makes Fatu champion at 10:40.

Rating: B-. That BFT alone made this one pretty memorable as the timing required to make that work was outstanding. At the same time, it made a lot more sense to have Fatu win here as he’s the kind of monster who had to win something at some point. It came after a good enough match too, with Fatu getting through to the next level, which Knight needs to do again.

We recap El Grande Americano vs. Rey Fenix. Americano is basically mocking the idea of lucha libre and Mysterio doesn’t like it so it’s time to stand up for the sport’s heritage. Chad Gable has been accused of being Americano but insists it is NOT him. Then Mysterio got hurt and he’s replaced by Rey Fenix. This needs more Mike Tenay’s Lucha Libre And The Mexican Luchadors.

El Grande Americano vs. Rey Fenix

Americano gets the sepia tone entrance ala the old newsreels about his career and is played in by a mariachi band. Hold on though as Americano goes outside and gets into it with AAA’s El Hijo de Vikingo, who kicks him in the head. Americano gets back inside for the opening bell and a hurricanrana for two.

They fight over a test of strength and go to the mat for a double bridge up. Fenix’s super hurricanrana sets up a missile dropkick to put Americano on the floor, meaning the big dive can follow. As commentary continues to bicker about whether it’s Americano or Gable, he suplexes Fenix for two but gets kicked in the face for his efforts. Back up and Americano LAUNCHES him into the corner with an overhead belly to belly for the huge crash.

A moonsault backsplash (commentary tries to figure out the degrees) hits Fenix for two more and Americano goes after the mask. That earns him a hurricanrana and the mask is loaded up. Fenix tries a springboard kick and hitsthe metal in the mask to leave him injured. The ankle lock goes on but Fenix rolls his way out. That means a springboard headbutt hits Americano but with Gable getting knocked out. A loaded Swan Dive finishes Fenix at 7:57.

Rating: C+. This was more about getting Americano on the show but it would have made a lot more sense against Mysterio. At the same time, this was about as good of an option as they had as a substitute, with Fenix being able to fly around so well. Americano had to win as he was still a pretty new idea and the goofiness was still working rather well.

Post match Vikingo checks on Fenix.

We look at the WWE Bought AAA announcement from earlier.

Here is Shawn Michaels to announce the attendance: 61,467. The number being written on the card in big numbers is rather amusing.

We see some celebrities, including UFC CEO Dana White for the second time.

We recap Charlotte challenging Tiffany Stratton for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Charlotte won the Royal Rumble and Stratton is rather cocky and believes she deserves everything she has. Charlotte also has her usual “I’m awesome” going and they’ve been rather nasty to each other in recent weeks.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte

Charlotte is challenging. Stratton has a rather cool entrance where she appears as three different kinds of Barbies in big pink boxes and walks out of the middle one. Charlotte charges at her to start and they go to the mat to slug it out. The fight goes outside with Charlotte still in control but Stratton gets in a shot to take over.

Back in and the Flair Flip is broken up with a running elbow and a double stomp takes Charlotte out of the corner for two. They head outside with Charlotte dropping her onto the barricade and then the apron as things slow down. Charlotte takes her back inside for what would become the Devi’s Kiss, followed by the rolling figure four neck lock rolling slams. The Liontamer goes on until Stratton reverses into a rollup for two.

Some handspring elbows connect for Stratton in the corner but Charlotte gets in a neck snap across the top rope. Stratton knocks her back down but the moonsault hits knees. Instead Stratton hits a basement dropkick for two and we pause for a double breather. A big boot gives Charlotte two and they chop it out with Stratton winning the exchange of strikes. Stratton misses a charge in the ropes though and Charlotte kicks her down.

Natural Selection is blocked though and Charlotte hits a nice sitout powerbomb for two. Stratton catches her up top and hits a spinebuster for two and they’re both down again. A high crossbody hits Charlotte but she’s able to knee Stratton outside. The moonsault to the floor is broken up though and Charlotte’s recently repaired knee is banged up. Stratton kicks away at the leg so Charlotte kicks away at the head for two.

Charlotte wraps Stratton’s knee around the post and crashes down onto it in the corner. The Figure Four goes on but Stratton gets smart by hammering on the bad knee to escape. Stratton’s Prettiest Moonsault Ever hits raised knees so the banged up Charlotte gets two and they’re both down again. Charlotte goes up and knocks her off the top, setting up a super Natural Selection for two. Another Figure Eight attempt is blocked and Charlotte misses a charge into the corner. An Alabama Slam sends Charlotte into the corner and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever retains the title at 19:12.

Rating: B. They accomplished the big goal here by having Stratton win over the most successful star in women’s wrestling history. Stratton was a star but needed something like this to really make her feel like a bigger name. She’s a big part of the new generation of women’s wrestling and Charlotte put her over, which happened to come after quite the athletic display. They worked well enough together and the result was the right call.

We look at the Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.

Here is the class:

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin from Wrestlemania XIII (doesn’t get much better than that)
Natural Disasters (they needed a tag team)
Michelle McCool (you knew it was coming)
HHH (that’s a top level headliner)

That’s about as much of a mixed bag as you can get but I do like the smaller number. Lex Luger was also in the class but apparently suffered a fall the morning of the show and couldn’t be there.

Iyo Sky was on the Goodyear Blimp over Las Vegas.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk. Reigns and Rollins have a long history due to the Shield and subsequent betrayals, while Punk is here because he hates both of them. The match has been made, with the caveat that Punk is FINALLY a Wrestlemania main eventer. As a bonus, Paul Heyman is in Punk’s corner to pay back the favor owed to Punk for being on Reigns’ team at Survivor Series. They also had a big fight at the Royal Rumble and then Reigns cost Punk a cage match against Rollins.

Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns

Rollins has a flamethrower, Reigns has white shoes and Punk has Heyman. Advantage: Reigns. Punk also gets a special video on his career, showing his rise from OVW to ECW to Raw and all the way to the main event. Tonight is his night and his main event. Yeah that’s well deserved after it was such a big deal to him. And of course Punk is played to the ring because we need to stretch this out even longer.

The bell rings and Punk heads outside to chat with Heyman, leaving Reigns to go after Rollins. Punk gets back in and Reigns clotheslines both of them, including one to send Punk outside. Reigns gets posted and suicide dived, with Rollins sending him into the steps. Punk and Rollins go into the crowd with Punk firing off some chair shots to take over. That’s broken up with a metal stand to the ribs and a trashcan to Punk’s head but he suplexes Rollins onto a trashcan.

They head back towards ringside, where Reigns dives over the barricade to take them both out. Reigns loads up the announcers’ table (Heyman is worried) but instead takes Punk back inside for a Samoan drop. Punk fights back and cuts Reigns off, which brings Punk quite the smile. Punk’s running knees in the corner set up a DDT/neckbreaker combination to drop both of them.

The top rope elbow hits Rollins but he’s able to catch Punk on top. Reigns breaks that up and gets Rollins on his shoulder, setting up Punk as Hawk in a Doomsday Device. Reigns and Punk slug it out with Punk getting the Anaconda Vice. Rollins dives in with a suicide dive to make the save and even covers Reigns for two. Back up and Rollins hits a buckle bomb to both of them but Punk tries the GTS.

That’s broken up by Reigns’ spear but Rollins reverses another into a Pedigree (they LOVE that spot). A Stomp connects but Rollins stops to get rid of Punk, allowing Reigns to kick out. Rollins’ phoenix splash misses Reigns so he spears Rollins down. A quick GTS gives Punk two on Reigns as Heyman is looking frustrated. Rollins is back in with a Pedigree for two on Punk, allowing him to yell at Reigns about how useless Reigns is without him. Rollins goes outside and the other announcers’ table is loaded up.

Rollins teases the DoubleBomb but Reigns punches him in the face and powerbombs Punk through the table. Rollins is powerbombed through the other but the spear to Rollins is only good for two. Reigns yells at Heyman about the favor and then grabs a guillotine choke on Punk, even jumping up onto him. That’s reversed into the Anaconda Vice but Rollins is in with a Sharpshooter to Punk. Reigns breaks that up with the guillotine, which is broken up for a GTS to Rollins. Heyman is now sitting on the steps as only Punk can get up.

Another GTS hits Rollins but Reigns spears Punk, only to get Stomped by Rollins to leave everyone down. That’s enough for Heyman to grab a chair, but he isn’t sure if he should give it to Punk or Reigns. He slides it to Punk and gets in the ring (and you can see it coming from here).

The chair shot is loaded up and it’s a low blow to Punk, leaving Reigns smiling (those are some amazingly white teeth). Heyman offers Reigns the chair so he can go after Punk but points Reigns at Rollins. Reigns loads up the chair and of course Heyman hits him low as well, revealing his real allegiance. Rollins gets the chair and blasts Reigns in the back (there’s your call back), setting up a Stomp for the pin at 32:41.

Rating: B+. This went on for a good while but once they started trading finishes, it got rather good. The question became how Heyman would get involved, but at the same time the action they had was rather good. It was a grudge match built around the idea of Heyman making his choice in the end, with everyone hating each other and wanting to beat the living daylights out of each other on the way there. I’m not sure if it’s a classic Wrestlemania main event, but dang it wound up working.

Overall Rating: B. I did like it and it feels like a big show, though I’m not sure if it felt all the way up to a Wrestlemania level show. The main event was rather great and most of the rest of the show worked, though the Americano vs. Fenix match could have probably been dropped. For a first half of the biggest show of the year it’s good enough, but it needed that one great match to put it up to the next level.

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

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Wrestlemania XL Night Two
Date: April 7, 2024
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 60,203
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, Corey Graves
God Bless American: The War And Treaty

And now, the night after. This is the second half of the event, which features Cody Rhodes challenging Roman Reigns for the WWE Title despite his back being firmly against the wall. Other than that, a banged up Seth Rollins is defending the World Heavyweight Title against Drew McIntyre, plus a not that hot midcard. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at Night One before shifting to Meek Mill talking about how if you don’t finish your story, someone else will finish it for you. The rest of the card gets a bit of a look of its own.

The War And Treaty sing God Bless America.

Here is Stephanie McMahon to get things going. She’s glad it’s a bit warmer today (preach it) and calls this the first show of the Paul Levesque Era. With that out of the way, let’s get things going.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins, banged up after last night, is defending and CM Punk is on commentary. McIntyre is played to the ring by a pipe and drums band while Rollins is led out by a group of Mummers (People in very insane costumes, playing instruments. I wasn’t familiar with them but a guy next to me said it was about as Philadelphia of an entrance as you could get.). McIntyre hits a Claymore at the bell for a near fall five seconds in as we’re starting fast.

Rollins immediately rolls outside as he’s in trouble early. A belly to belly drops Rollins and McIntyre grabs someone’s phone for a quick picture. McIntyre stops to yell at Punk though and gets Pedigreed on the floor, with Rollins coming up holding his knee (banged up last night). Back in and a Stomp gets two on McIntyre and they both pull themselves up, exhausted by their three and a half minutes of action thus far.

They slug it out with McIntyre getting the better of things and nipping up. The Claymore is countered into a powerbomb though and the Pedigree connects again. A top rope stomp misses but so does the Claymore. Rollins misses the regular Stomp and gets Futureshocked for two. McIntyre mocks the GTS pose to annoy Punk but the GTS is countered into a small package for two.

Another Claymore hits Rollins for two and McIntyre is stunned. They go outside where Rollins slips out of a powerbomb attempt and hits a basement superkick. Rollins hits a Stomp on the table and they head back inside, where McIntyre hits another Claymore for another two. Punk wants to see another GTS but it’s another Claymore to give McIntyre the pin and the title at 10:34.

Rating: B-. This was more out of the old Lesnar style and that works a lot better when you haven’t see it over and over again. McIntyre getting more and more frustrated before finally getting the pin was a great story as he had been going nuts for so long that he had to win something. This worked well and it was a big opener, even if some of the near falls were a bit nuts at times.

Post match an emotional Rollins leaves and gets something of a look of respect from McIntyre. He kisses his wife and then goes back to Punk, mocking him as you might expect. As you also might expect, Punk trips McIntyre down and hits with the arm brace….and it’s Money In The Bank time.

Raw World Title: Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre

Priest is challenging and wins the title with South Of Heaven at 9 seconds, sending McIntyre further into insanity and furthering the feud of the year with CM Punk.

Judgment Day comes out for the big celebration in a nice moment. Punk mockingly applauds McIntyre to make it even better.

Street Profits/Bobby Lashley vs. Final Testament

Street fight, Bubba Ray Dudley is guest referee and Snoop Dogg is on commentary. B-Fab is here with the good guys while Paul Ellering and Scarlett are here with the Testament. Graves says that this is Ellering’s first appearance at Wrestlemania. I guess he’s forgotten Wrestlemania VIII as well. Lashley and the Profits waste no time in knocking them outside and it’s already time for a table, which Dogg seems to like.

The AOP come back and take out the Profits before being on Lashley with kendo sticks. Kross gives Lashley a neckbreaker onto an open chair for two, with Dawkins making the save. Ford goes up but gets knocked out of the air and it’s the Super Collider to the Profits. B-Fab tries to make the save but gets taken out by Scarlett, with the two of them crashing through a table. Lashley fights up and starts the comeback, with Dawkins hitting a big tackle on the floor to drop the AOP.

Some chair shots to Kross set up Lashley’s spinebuster onto the chair but the AOP is back in. The Doomsday Saito suplex drops Lashley and a DDT through a chair gets two. Kross yells at Bubba, who puts the glasses on, leaving Lashley to hit a spear. Bubba orders a What’s Up on Kross and it’s table time, but the table breaks in advance. Another table is brought in as Kross is beaten with a kendo stick (Dogg: “WHOOP HIM! WHOOP HIM!”). A frog splash through the table finishes Kross at 8:32.

Rating: C. Yeah this was fine, but it was nothing you wouldn’t see on Smackdown. The AOP felt like monsters but it didn’t exactly take much to knock them out. At the same time, Kross is supposed to be the big bad and Lashley beat him up without much trouble. This felt like a way to have a street fight with tables in Philadelphia and that doesn’t get you very far. As usual, Snoop Dogg felt like he was having the time of his life on commentary and clearly loves wrestling.

We look at last night’s main event, with Cody Rhodes getting pinned to make tonight’s main event Bloodline Rules.

Paul Heyman is asked what Bloodline Rules mean. He cites the WWE rule book before saying it’s whatever Roman Reigns wants them to be.

LA Knight arrived in a fast Slim Jim car.

We recap LA Knight vs. AJ Styles. Knight is the crowd favorite and seems to be on his way to stardom but Styles doesn’t like him, to the point of costing him the Elimination Chamber. Styles said he wanted to humble Knight, who said they should fight at Wrestlemania. Game on, with Styles attacking Knight with a chair. Knight showed up at Styles’ house and got arrested to make it more personal.

AJ Styles vs. LA Knight

During his entrance, Knight gives the keys to his Slim Jim car to a sweepstakes winner, who seems to be….not overly excited. Styles charges to the ring and gets punched in the face to start fast. They go to the floor where Styles is rammed into the announcers’ table but he starts in on the leg.

A DDT on the leg keeps Knight down but he fights up with a Russian legsweep. Knight hits a tornado DDT and tries a superplex, only to get reversed into the belly to back faceplant. Styles goes up so Knight jumps the corner and hits a release German superplex. The Calf Crusher goes back to Knight’s bad leg and Knight goes straight over to the ropes.

The leg is wrapped around the post so Knight pulls him face first into said post. It’s time to peel back the mats but Styles knocks him onto the concrete. Back in and the springboard 450 hits Styles’ raised knees but the BFT is countered into a failed Styles Clash attempt. Another springboard is broken up and Knight hits the BFT for the win at 12:24.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t a great match or really anything close, but it did what it needed to do: give Knight a clean win on a big stage. Knight is the definition of someone who needs to win something to validate his popularity and while this wasn’t quite that win, it was the biggest victory of his career. As usual, Styles can work well with anyone and he made Knight look like a star here.

We get the Hall Of Fame video package from Friday.

The Hall Of Fame class is presented:

US Express (in Bray Wyatt shirts, after a Wyatt tribute at the ceremony)
Bull Nakano
Thunderbolt Patterson
Lia Maivia
Muhammad Ali
Paul Heyman (to the ECW theme and carrying the WWE Title, receiving by far the biggest reaction)

We recap Logan Paul defending the US Title against Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. Paul is a huge star and the other two are sick of him. Orton wants to give him an RKO and Owens was sick of hearing about Paul being a star, including after losing to him at the Royal Rumble.

US Title: Logan Paul vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens

Paul, defending, comes to the ring in a Prime truck and he has a guy in a Prime bottle costume, which cannot end well. Owens comes to the ring and runs into Sami Zayn in a reversal from their meeting last night. Paul bails to the floor to start and tells the other two to start, which doesn’t happen as they would rather go after Paul. The challengers take turns sending Paul into various things, with Owens getting to drop him onto the announcers’ table in something of a tribute to Orton.

That’s not good enough though as Orton shows him how to do it a bit better before they get back inside. Paul sends Owens into Orton to try to start some strife, only for the two of them to beat him up again. They even get in some stereo stomps before Owens hits a backsplash. The two of them both cover Paul though and now it’s clear that things aren’t going to work. Owens blocks an RKO attempt and they know where this is going to go. The brawl is on but Paul knocks both of them down to take over.

Paul even mocks Orton’s pose to be a real villain before sending Owens into the buckle a few times. That’s broken up though as Owen superkicks Paul into the corner but the Swanton hits raised knees. Paul Swantons Owens and rolls into a regular splash for two on Orton in a rather athletic display. Orton actually loses a slugout with Paul but he rakes the eyes and sends Paul outside. Back up and Owens gets clotheslined into a powerslam, allowing Orton to pop his chest a bit (the fans approve).

Paul comes back in and gets powerslammed as well and there’s a double hanging DDT to put Owens and Paul down. Owens snaps off some superkicks though and a Codebreaker to Orton/Backstabber to Paul gets two. They all go to the corner and Paul makes the mistake of trying a superplex on Owens, who reverses into something like a super Jackhammer. A moonsault gives Owens two but Orton is back in with an RKO for the same (that’s not something you see kicked out of very often).

Back in and Paul knocks Orton silly with the brass knuckles for two and the kickout leaves Paul stunned. Owens tries to come in and gets knuckled as well. Paul yells at Orton and gets an RKO for his efforts but Orton is too banged up to cover. Now Orton gets the brass knuckles but hands them to the referee, only for the guy in the Prime bottle to pull Paul outside. It’s….IShowSpeed, one of Paul’s cronies/a popular streamer, who shoves Orton in a really bad idea.

The suit is pulled off and an RKO onto the announcers’ table leaves Speed out cold. Paul uses the breather to miss a frog splash and gets caught with a pop up powerbomb. Owens Stunners Orton for two so he tries another pop up powerbomb, which is countered into an RKO in a sweet reversal. Paul sends Orton outside though and hits a frog splash to pin Owens and retain at 17:39.

Rating: B. This was better than I remember it as they had a good story of the wrestlers fighting each other and treating Paul like an afterthought but Paul got smart and stole the win in the end. Paul continues to come off like a star and someone who keeps surprising people, which is what he did here. It was a good match for everyone and Paul gets a win on the big stage, which will only help him.

We recap Bayley challenging Iyo Sky for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Bayley had started Damage CTRL and the team had success but then they started to move past her. Eventually Iyo Sky won the title and Bayley won the Royal Rumble. One day the Japanese members mocked her in Japanese, but Bayley revealed she knew what they were saying and the match was on. Sky promised to show that she was the real star of the team while Bayley wasn’t sure if they were ever friends in the first place.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Iyo Sky vs. Bayley

Bayley is challenging and is carried to the ring as part of her weird pyramid theme. They start fast with Bayley knocking her outside and shrugging off a shot to the face. A suicide dive hits Sky on the floor, with Bayley coming up favoring her leg a bit. The leg is fine enough to hit a baseball slide to drop Sky again but the dropkick under the ropes misses. Instead Sky wraps the leg around the post and cranks on said leg as we have a target.

Back in and a dragon screw legwhip takes Bayley down again so the fans start singing about Bayley. The power is enough to make her send Sky into the timekeeper’s area, only for her to dive out and right into a Bayley To Belly on the floor. Back in and a spinning side slam (kind of like Victoria) gives Bayley two and she goes up. Sky catches her up top, with Bayley’s leg getting tied in the ropes, followed by a crash to the floor.

A great moonsault hits Bayley on the outside but she’s able to hit a sunset bomb into the corner back inside. Some German suplexes give Sky two each but Over The Moonsault hits a raised knee (as in the already injured one). Bayley, with one good leg, manages to get up top and tries the elbow, only to get pulled into the crossface. That’s broken up in a hurry but Bayley’s basement clothesline is countered into another crossface.

With that not working, Sky switches into a more logical STF, which is broken up as well. Another Bayley To Belly gets two but Bayley spends too much time yelling and gets hit in the face. A backbreaker sets up Over The Moonsault for a near fall, followed by some more moonsaults. The big one misses but Bayley can’t hit the Roseplant. Instead Bayley hits a heck of a clothesline and a suplex sets up the top rope elbow. The Roseplant gives Bayley the pin and the title at 14:22.

Rating: B+. This turned into a heck of a match with Bayley working hard to overcome the injury and show that she was able to beat the star in Sky. That’s the kind of match you do not often see and it worked well here, with Bayley showing that she still has it. As usual, Sky is as smooth as it gets in the ring and looked awesome, but this needed to be Bayley’s win and that’s exactly what she got.

Here is Snoop Dogg, with the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders and mascot, to announce the attendance of 72,755. The two night attendance is 145,298, with Snoop saying 145,420 for the joke which is mostly ignored.

We recap Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Title. Reigns beat Rhodes last year in a huge upset, sending Rhodes on a path to get back to the title match and Finish The Story. Now though, the Rock is back and Rhodes is up against the entire Bloodline, meaning, as Cole put it last night, “Cody Is Screwed”.

Reigns isn’t giving it up without a fight though, as he has been champion for three and a half years. This gets the big music video treatment as we look at Rhodes fighting to get to the top after all of this adversity in his quest to finish the story. Of note, the theme here is Rhodes is back after a long hiatus, including photos of him with the Young Bucks, Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns, with Paul Heyman, is defending under Bloodline Rules, meaning anything goes. The entrances are of course epic, with Rhodes coming out with his wife Brandi amid a ton of pyro and rising through the stage. Not to be outdone, Reigns has a full orchestra playing him to the ring, which is treatment worthy of a champion. We get the Big Match Intros and Samantha Irvin manages to make this feel all the more incredible.

They stare each other down to start and Rhodes goes for the leg but lets it go for another standoff. We get some more circling as they clearly have a lot of time here. Rhodes hits a right hand and knocks Reigns to the floor as things pick up fast. It’s already time for a table but Reigns cuts him off and puts it back. Rhodes sends him into the steps but Reigns is back up with a kendo stick to start the beating.

That’s taken away though and Rhodes comes back with a quick bulldog. Rhodes gets smart by grabbing a Figure Four, which is quickly broken up with a rake to the eyes. They go outside again and, after a trip through the Prime station, it’s time to fight into the crowd. Reigns takes him onto a platform and tells people to move so he can throw him. That takes too long as well and Rhodes reverses it into a suplex of his own.

Back in and Reigns hits a heck of a powerbomb to drop Rhodes again and we get a double breather. Reigns is back up with a suplex and starts getting cocky, setting up a cravate. A PerfectPlex gives Reigns two but Rhodes is back up with some kicks to the face. They clothesline each other down as we’re nearly fifteen minutes in without things getting too crazy. They slug it out and the Disaster Kick gives Rhodes two (and Heyman a big scared reaction).

Back up and Reigns hits his own Cross Rhodes for two, resulting in Reigns looking like he says something in the vein of “I knew that wouldn’t work”. Rhodes fights up and fires off the jabs but they go outside, where Reigns sends him through the announcers’ table. Back in and a Superman Punch connects for two as the fans are getting a lot more into this stuff. Rhodes pops up with a Cody Cutter for two and a spear gets the same to even the stolen finishers score.

Cross Rhodes connects and the fans get up…as Jimmy Uso runs in (they made it over 20 minutes before getting there) for a superkick. The Superman Punch connects but here is Jey Uso to even the score. The Usos brawl on the ramp and Jey spears Jimmy off of said ramp through some tables. Rhodes grabs a rollup for two but gets speared down for the save. The fans are surprisingly way more into this than I would have expected as you have to know the Rock is on the way.

They go outside again and this time Rhodes spears him through the barricade for the big crash. Back in and two Cross Rhodes connect but here is Solo Sikoa with the Samoan Spike to cut Rhodes off for two. A spear/Samoan Spike combination only gets two and heeeeeere’s John Cena to a ROAR. Cena clears Sikoa out but here is the Rock to go after him (Cena’s look of “oh here we go” is good). A Rock Bottom takes Cena out in a hurry but the Shield music starts up.

Cue Seth Rollins in Shield gear but Reigns cuts him off with a Superman Punch. Rock yells at Mama Rhodes and loads up the weight belt…..and a gong strikes. The lights go out and the Undertaker is here to chokeslam Rock. As great as that was, my goodness what I would have given for the glass to shatter at Wrestlemania one more time.

Reigns gets back up and grabs a chair, but hits Rollins instead. The broken concentration lets Rhodes hit three Cross Rhodes for the pin (with Cole saying FINISH THE STORY in time with the count) and the title at 33:25. Samantha Irvin clearly fighting back tears as she announces the win makes it that much better.

Rating: B. This is a hard one to grade as the entire point of this was to crown Rhodes as the new champion and they got that covered. Given the build, there wasn’t much of anything else that could have been done without killing Rhodes off as a top guy. They had a big match feel and it felt like Rhodes assembled the Avengers to take out the unstoppable force. The build throughout worked too, as Rhodes couldn’t pin him with the single or the double Cross Rhodes but finally did it with the triple.

It did exactly what it needed to do and was a good enough match on the way there. Much like Daniel Bryan winning the title ten years earlier, the ending was the only thing that mattered and everything else was pretty much gravy. Good main event here though, and it did the big goal of ending Reigns’ all time title reign.

One other thing: I watched this show next to a family, including someone who got to come to the show as his high school graduation present. He talked about how this was so much better than anything he could have imagined and the only thing that he didn’t get to see was the Undertaker, his all time favorite wrestler. The gong went off and he started crying over how happy he was at the whole thing. That’s the kind of special reaction you do not get in many things and I love it when you get to see wrestling make it happen.

A bunch of wrestlers come out to celebrate with Rhodes as we get the big crowning of Rhodes as champion. Rhodes even hands the title to his mom as his family gets in the ring. Rhodes gets the mic and asks for Bruce Prichard and HHH to come out here, because it wouldn’t be happening without them. Both come out and HHH holds up Rhodes arm as it’s time to lift Rhodes up on Sami Zayn and Randy Orton’s shoulders. Rhodes goes out and hugs Michael Cole before shaking Rollins’ hand in a nice moment. The ring clears out and Rhodes gets to pose a lot before leaving to end the show.

We get the long highlight package to really wrap us up.

Overall Rating: B+. I liked this one better than Night One overall, with only the six man street fight feeling a bit beneath the standard. The show was built entirely around the main event and that worked well, with Bayley vs. Sky and the US Title match being nice moments. We also had the big title changes to start the show and it made for a good event. As usual though, the whole thing is about a feel good moment and that’s all it needed to be. WWE knows how to do these big milestone Wrestlemanias and they did it again here, as the new era feels like it is officially under way.

Ratings Comparison

Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

Original: B-
Redo: B-

Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest

Original: N/A
Redo: N/A

Final Testament vs. Bobby Lashley/Street Profits

Original: C
Redo: C

AJ Styles vs. LA Knight

Original: B-
Redo: B-

Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul

Original: C+
Redo: B

Bayley vs. Iyo Sky

Original: B
Redo: B+

Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns

Original: B+
Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: B+
Redo: B+

Yeah I underrated that triple threat match as it was a lot more fun than that. Still though, pretty solid show all around.

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 6, 2026
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re less than two weeks away from Wrestlemania and that means everything has to come together. The good thing is that the Raw side of things has been the better of the two shows and that means we could be in for a nice night. If nothing else, we might be getting some more things set for the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is a ticked off CM Punk to get things going. Punk sits down in the middle of the ring as we get some dueling chants from the fans. Punk talks about this being a wrestling town and he has some history of his own here. This is Paul Boesch territory and Houston Wrestling. He loves to hear about the old timers and you can’t help but compare yourself to them. Sometimes he dreams and asks what Harley Race would do.

The important things happen when we’re awake though (he gets up) and it’s good to be alive on a Monday night in Houston. The thing is, Roman Reigns isn’t here tonight. Punk recaps his issues with Punk over the last two weeks. Punk gets out on the apron and talks about how Reigns hates him. That’s a good thing, because he won’t trade his authenticity for approval. Not vying for the approval of losers is what prevents him from being one of them. The fans chant for Reigns but Punk says he’s the one who is here. Punk: “And I’m an old man!”

Punk takes off his jacket and stands on the announcers’ table and talks about how this company sent Reigns to Jimmy Fallon. Reigns is there because he’s safe and boring and you know he’s not going to lose it. On the other hand, Punk is someone who could say anything. He can film TV shows and movies and never miss a show but Reigns uses it as a crutch to be gone and then Punk gets booed when he shows up. Reigns puffs his chest around in the back like he’s the Rock, a Hollywood superstar. Punk: “I’m sorry. WAS a Hollywood superstar.”

After that gasp is over, Punk talks about how Reigns got a job because his father was a wrestler because he sucked at football. He calls Reigns a nepo baby who ate dog food for a weird old man. That old man treated Punk like a dog for years but Punk had FU money and walked away. That’s why everyone hates him: they can’t control him. You can’t blackball him and he can blow up his own bridge because he knows how to swim.

He’s not done though because PAT MCAFEE thinks he can come here and get in Punk’s business. Call that agent of his that shoehorned him into the show and tell him to LOWER THE TICKET PRICES. McAfee isn’t coming here and telling him to put people in seats. Lower the ticket prices so everyone in Houston (and their families) can come to Las Vegas and see him take Reigns out. This was Punk in his element as he felt like he was venting, with the part about the ticket prices not being something I was expecting to hear.

We recap IShowSpeed’s issues with LA Knight, who showed up on Speed’s stream and beat him up last week.

Speed is in the back and runs into Danhausen, who will remove the curse in exchange for Speed’s mansion. Adam Pearce shows up and Danhausen disappears. Pearce suggests that Speed go home before it gets worse but the Vision show up and have Speed come to the arena with them.

Austin Theory vs. LA Knight

Logan Paul IShowSpeed are here with Theory, who sends Knight into the ropes to start. Back up and Knight knocks him outside for a change but Theory is back with a ram into the buckle. That earns him another trip to the floor, where Knight clotheslines him into the timekeeper’s area as we take a break.

We come back with Knight grabbing a neckbreaker and hammering away, followed by a Russian legsweep. Another neckbreaker gives Knight two but Theory hits a shot to the face into a Blockbuster. Knight shrugs that off and takes him outside for the rams into the announcers’ table. With Theory back inside, Paul shoves Speed into Knight, who gives chase up the aisle. Cue the Usos to cut Speed off so Speed jumps over Knight, who catches him back inside. Paul’s save doesn’t work but Theory rolls Knight up, with trunks, for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: C. This was a case where the match was mainly a backdrop for everything else going on, which isn’t the worst thing. At the same time, it’s also a case where a DQ would have made a lot more sense. Knight didn’t need to take a fall like this and there was so much else going on that you could have saved a bit of a headache without the pin.

Post match Knight isn’t overly happy but he has an idea for how to even things up a bit: a six man tag at Wrestlemania. Adam Pearce pops up to say he told Speed to go home because the match is official. Yeah that was obvious and it’s not a bad thing to go with what makes sense.

Commentary introduces a video on Pat McAfee’s actions on Smackdown, with Michael Cole having to calm himself down.

CM Punk talks about his favorite Wrestlemania memory: being an extra at Wrestlemania XXII, which he thinks about every time he comes to work.

Finn Balor vs. JD McDonagh

Hold on though as Dominik Mysterio jumps Balor from behind and even mocks Balor’s pose. Balor fights back and goes after McDonagh but Mysterio gets in a belt shot with the AAA Mega Title. McDonagh brings in a chair and Mysterio beats Balor down so he can do the sign point. No match.

We get a video on AJ Lee, including a lot of her time before her hiatus.

Lee sits down with Michael Cole and says she is nervous about her first Wrestlemania in eleven years…and here is Becky Lynch to interrupt. Lynch calls Cole the worst interviewer and commentator in WWE so Cole leaves, telling Lee good luck. Lynch talks about seeing Lee at Wrestlemania XXXI and getting a fake hug but then Lee left the next day. Lee tells her to keep underestimating what Lee can do and cuts her off when Lynch doesn’t like this

The reality is Lynch is a big star but she walked through the doors that Lee opened. This company called her for ten years and the fans never forgot her. When Lynch goes home and asks her daughter who her favorite wrestler is, her daughter will say it’s AJ Lee. See you at Wrestlemania. Lee leaves and Lynch is livid. Keeping Lynch angry and annoyed is a good thing and Lee getting the chance to back up her words should be fun.

Bayley vs. Lash Legend

Lyra Valkyria and Nia Jax are here too. Bayley is knocked outside to start and can’t make much of a comeback before it happens again. We take a break and come back with Bayley knocking her out of the ropes but seeming to have a bad arm. Legend swings her into a backbreaker for two but misses a boot in the ropes. Bayley’s running dropkick sends Legend into the corner, where a knee to the face connects as well.

The middle rope elbow to the back gives Bayley two but Jax interferes, triggering a brawl with Valkyria. Cue Charlotte and Alexa Bliss, with Charlotte hitting Jax with her jacket for some reason. Bayley dives onto all of them and goes up, where Legend tries a superplex. Valkyria breaks that up though and Bayley falls on top for the pin (with Valkyria holding Legend’s foot) for the pin at 8:32.

Rating: C+. Much like the opener, I wouldn’t have had someone get a fall here, but at least it was a challenger pinning a champion, which could be a much bigger deal at Wrestlemania. The interference made sense, though Charlotte’s thing with her jacket was kind of weird. At least the Bellas weren’t involved, which kept things a bit better than they would have been otherwise.

We recap Gunther attacking Seth Rollins last week.

Various celebrities, including Mark Henry, are here.

We look at the trailer for Netflix’s documentary on Hulk Hogan. That could be fascinating or stupid. I’m leaning towards stupid.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. Rollins talks about being gone for six months and he’s so glad to be back so he wants to hear the fans singing his song. He’s BACK and in less than two weeks, he faces Gunther at Wrestlemania. Rollins isn’t sure how we got here because he didn’t think he and Gunther had any issues.

The only option is that Gunther must have entered into some kind of agreement with Paul Heyman. Rollins is back and has two goals: get his title back and kill the Vision. They’ve already got some Samoans to deal with and that won’t end well. He also put Brock Lesnar on a silver platter for Oba Femi and yes, Femi is the future.

As for Gunther, if he wants to be in league with Heyman, it has become personal for Rollins. Cue Gunther to try a sleeper but Rollins reverses into one of his own. Gunther slips out and the fight is on, with Rollins kicking him to the floor for the suicide dive. Gunther tosses him away again but security quickly breaks it up. That lets Gunther get in a cheap shot before he leaves.

In the back, Gunther runs into Heyman, who says he doesn’t know why Gunther did what he did last week. As far as Heyman knows, there’s nothing personal between Gunther and Rollins, so Heyman owes Gunther a big thank you. Gunther says it is personal between Rollins and Heyman, so it is personal to Gunther for some different reasons (which he doesn’t reveal). He shakes Heyman’s hand but pulls him in to say Heyman owes him more than he knows. Intriguing.

We look back at Roxanne Perez saving Liv Morgan from Stephanie Vaquer last week.

Vaquer says Morgan’s hair dye must have gotten to her brain if she thinks middle school insults are going to be enough. Morgan is trying to solve her daddy issues with Dominik Mysterio, who is trying to deal with not being as good as his own dad. Vaquer wants to inspire girls but while Morgan says it’s on sight, the truth is she’ll never see it coming.

Penta/Dragon Lee/Je’Von Evans vs. Los Americanos

Bravo and Lee trade some flips and posing to start before it’s off to Rayo for a running headbutt. The dancing lets Evans come in for a springboard hurricanrana as Kofi Kingston is watching from behind. Americano comes in to counter a headscissors into a kind of reverse powerbomb, allowing all three Americanos to pose. That’s broken up and they’re sent to the floor for a set of dives. Back in and Penta and company do the Penta strut as we take a break.

We come back with Penta hitting a double DDT and bringing in Lee before diving onto Americano. Bravo has to save Rayo from a Styles Clash and everything breaks down with a parade of knockdowns. Lee Styles Clashes Bravo but Americano is in for the save. A bunch of superkicks set up Penta’s Mexican Destroyer on the apron. That leaves Evans to hit the OG Cutter to Bravo for the pin at 7:45.

Rating: B-. It was an entertaining match with a bunch of people flying around and going nuts for a short amount of time, which will always work. The ladder match at Wrestlemania still feels a bit out of nowhere, but if very well could just be a big “let’s all do a bunch of high spots”, which should work out well. Then again Evans might break every bone in his body, as he seems likely to do quite often.

Post match Rey Mysterio is back (and Je’Von Evans is completely starstruck) to praise Penta for everything he has done. The ladder match has the potential to be great…and he’s going to be in it too. Penta shakes his hand and says let’s make history.

We look at Cody Rhodes’ promo from Smackdown.

We look at the Wrestlemania six man tag being set up earlier. IShowSpeed realizing he’s in big trouble is still funny.

Video on Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar.

We get a video from Asuka, who talks about how Iyo Sky abandoned her and tried to steal Kairi Sane away from her too. Asuka was here to pave the way for them and made sacrifices to make everything better. It was all out of love, but she loved Sky too much. Then Sky rebelled, and it’s time for Asuka to get revenge, including one more lesson in the ring.

Iyo Sky/Rhea Ripley vs. Michin/B-Fab

Jade Cargill is here too. Ripley takes B-Fab down to start and brings Michin in for a big boot. Michin is sent outside but B-Fab is up with a pump kick. A spinning DDT gives B-Fab two and we hit the chinlock. Ripley fights out without much trouble and brings Sky back in to clean house. A double missile dropkick hits Michin and B-Fab and Sky’s suicide dive takes them out again. We take a break and come back with Sky in trouble and Ripley being drawn in off a distraction. Cargill sends Ripley into the steps but Sky sends Michin into the post. That leaves B-Fab to get rolled up for the pin at 7:27.

Rating: C+. The ending came out of nowhere but there is little reason to believe that Michin and B-Fab could win here anyway. The two of them exist to be cannon fodder for Cargill and that’s pretty much all they were here. Ripley and Sky were only ever in so much trouble here and the match wasn’t in the biggest doubt.

Post match the big beatdown is on, with Michin getting a kendo stick. Ripley tries to make the save but gets kicked in the face. Michin and B-Fab hold Ripley back in the corner, leaving Cargill to beat up Sky.

Finn Balor says he taught Dominik Mysterio how to play dirty but play time is over. There’s another side of him that he thought he had buried forever, but Mysterio awakened it. But now it’s back and coming for Mysterio at Wrestlemania. Oh dear.

Dominik Mysterio is nervous about what that means but the rest of Judgment Day tries to calm him down. Mysterio has an idea and leaves wit JD McDonagh. Liv Morgan (in a Wrestlemania XV shirt) talks to Roxanne Perez and thanks her for last week. She knows Finn Balor brought Perez onto the team…and here is Stephanie Vaquer to jump Morgan from behind.

Here are HHH and Adam Pearce to oversee the contract signing between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi. Paul Heyman interrupts though and handles Lesnar’s introduction, as only he can. Femi comes out as well and Lesnar jumps him on the way into the ring. Femi is right back to ram Lesnar into the post though and they go through the table, with security running in to break it up. Lesnar throws a chair at Femi and security has a lot of work to do to keep them apart as the show ends.

Overall Rating: B-. We are officially in the “Wrestlemania is pretty much set so we’re not going to do much to shake it up” period and that means we might not be in for much great stuff. They added a bit more to the show though and nothing was overly bad. Raw continues to be light years ahead of Smackdown at the moment and while this show wasn’t must see TV, it advanced enough things on the way to Wrestlemania. That’s all it needed to do and it did so well enough.

Results
Austin Theory b. LA Knight – Rollup
Bayley b. Lash Legend – Top rope splash with Lyra Valkyria holding the foot
Penta/Dragon Lee/Je’Von Evans b. Los Americanos – OG Cutter to Bravo
Iyo Sky/Rhea Ripley b. Michin/B-Fab – Rollup to B-Fab

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 30, 2026
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s back to the home place for WWE and that means they’re going to make things even bigger than usual. That’s not a bad thing either as this year’s Wrestlemania build has been a bit hit and miss. Hopefully something other than Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk and Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi gets to take off this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Cody Rhodes to get things going. He hits the catchphrase but here is Stephanie McMahon of all people to cut him off. She talks about how she wants to talk about Randy Orton because they’re all third generation people in the wrestling business. We’re coming up on Wrestlemania and she sees Orton being all crazy. This version of Rhodes can’t beat this version of Orton and so far, Cody isn’t as good as his father.

Rhodes says he doesn’t know who Orton is because he knows everything about Orton. The reality is that Orton has done some great things and some things that are so violent that we can’t even show them around here anymore. At one point Rhodes was having to babysit Orton by making sure he was still breathing when Orton passed out in the car. With all due respect, no he isn’t his father, but Stephanie isn’t her father either.

That gets one heck of a gasp from the audience and one heck of a slap from Stephanie to Rhodes. She’s out here because she cares about him because Rhodes needs to become more like Orton if he wants to keep the title. Orton is listening to the voices in his head and someone else on top of that. Rhodes says he has two words for her, which are THANK YOU, and he leaves as Stephanie smiles. The message was good, but this felt like a way to get Stephanie on the show whether it fit or not.

IShowSpeed is in the back and demands to see Danhausen. Cue Danhausen, with Speed wanting the curse to be reversed because Speed’s week has been terrible. Danhausen will do it for ten million dollars and the rights to Speed’s streaming service, but Speed can’t do that. Instead, Adam Pearce gives Speed front row seats and introduces him to LA Knight, who will be a guest commentator for the Tag Team Title match. Danhausen doesn’t disappear because Pearce is watching.

Tag Team Titles: The Vision vs. Usos

The Usos are defending in a street fight and LA Knight is on commentary. It’s a brawl to start and the Usos send them outside to start, setting up Jey’s big dive to take them out as we take a break. We come back with the Vision in control and a bunch of weapons in the ring. Some running trashcan shots miss though and the Usos get to fight back, with a trashcan being put on Paul’s head. Stereo superkicks knock him outside and Theory is put in the trashcan for a beating with the kendo stick.

The table is loaded up and Theory gets double superplexed through it for the big crash. Paul goes over to the barricade where his mom gives him some brass knuckles. Knight goes over to go after Paul (Mr.) but IShowSpeed is pulled over with him. Speed picks up the knuckles and accidentally knocks Knight down. That sends Speed bailing as he knows he’s in trouble. Paul misses the knuckles shot and gets superkicked, with Theory getting the same. Jey spears Theory but Paul uses the knuckles to knock Jimmy out. Jey dives on Paul but Theory gets the pin and the titles at 8:53.

Rating: B-. That feels like a way to set up a six man tag for Wrestlemania and….eh I’d take it over seeing these teams fight again. The title change is a good way to go as the Vision desperately needed something good to happen and it’s not like the Usos need the titles. Nice enough match here, with the street fight aspect helping a bit.

Speed realizes he’s in trouble but stays with the Vision, who know Knight and the Usos are going to want to kill him. That would be quite the six man at Wrestlemania.

We look back at the end of last week’s show, with CM Punk getting under Roman Reigns’ skin and laughing when Reigns hurt him.

We look at CM Punk winning the WWE Title in this building at Survivor Series 2011.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is Liv Morgan for a chat. She gets right to the point by saying that Stephanie Vaquer is done at Wrestlemania. Vaquer attacked her family, including Dirty Dom, but she doesn’t have any family of her own here. Morgan is ready to fight on sight so here is Vaquer to interrupt. Vaquer kicks her down and grabs a chair but Roxanne Perez is back to jump Vaquer from behind. Oblivion onto a chair leaves Vaquer down and Morgan is rather pleased. Morgan is all but guaranteed to win the title so she doesn’t need the help, but it’s good to have Perez back.

We look back at Paul Heyman getting attacked by Seth Rollins last week, resulting in Rollins being arrested.

IShowSpeed tries to explain that he didn’t mean to help the Vision and it was an accident. Heyman comes in and says Speed is in good hands so the three of them should go to dinner. With the three of them gone, Heyman says the Usos are going to kill Speed. Adam Pearce comes in to say he needs to talk to Heyman, who didn’t get his email. Heyman leaves without finding out the message. That’s dumb for Heyman.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Lyra Valkyria/Bayley vs. Irresistible Forces

The Forces are defending. Legend throws Valkyria around to start and it’s off to Jax to crush her in the corner. Legend comes back in so Valkyria flips over her and brings Bayley in for a change. Legend knocks both of them down and it’s back to Jax to take over on Valkyria. Bayley sends Jax outside for a dive and we take a break.

We come back with Valkyria trying to get over for a tag but Jax knocks Bayley off the apron. Valkyria manages a DDT to Legend though and it’s back to Bayley for the middle rope elbow. A kick to the face cuts Bayley off though and Jax drops the big leg for two. Bayley actually breaks up the Annihilator though and hits a powerbomb, with Valkyria adding a moonsault.

Legend makes the save and everything breaks down, leaving all four of them down. Cue the Bella Twins, followed by Charlotte and Alexa Bliss, who show up to argue with them. Valkyria yells at them all so Jax shoves Valkyria into Bliss and Charlotte. Legend jumps the Bellas and drives Bayley into the apron. Back in and Jax headbutts Valkyria but Bliss comes in to jump Jax for the DQ at 10:42.

Rating: C. This has pretty clearly been building towards a multi-team match of some kind for the titles and that ending almost guarantees one is getting set up. It’s nice to have this many viable teams coming for the titles and it lets us get the Bellas title match, which absolutely has to happen. Either way, the match wasn’t great, but it served it purpose.

Post match the six non-champions knock the Forces out to the floor.

We look back at Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar in recent weeks.

Danhausen announces the Saturday Night’s Main Event will be back in the Garden on July 18. Having him be this weird backstage guy who makes the occasional announcement is the best use of Danhausen.

Here is Brock Lesnar, in fighting gear and with Paul Heyman, for a chat. Heyman says he’s here to talk about Oba Femi, with the fans seemingly being on Femi’s side. What Femi needs to learn is that a ticked off Lesnar is a different kind of beast and various people have taken some beatings over the years. Lesnar grabs the mic and calls Femi out but instead it’s Adam Pearce, with security.

Pearce says this isn’t happening tonight…and here is Femi to interrupt. Femi wrecks security, and Pearce, and takes his time walking around the ring. The fans are WAY into this as Femi gets inside for the staredown but HHH himself comes out to get between them. Lesnar goes to the floor and grabs the steps (Femi tells him to bring it) but Lesnar throws them down and leaves instead. Lesnar gives a security guard an F5 to blow off some steam. I want to see these two fight and that’s a good sign.

IMG Credit: WWE

Finn Balor talks about how he wasn’t happy with some of the things he did in the Judgment Day. Dominik Mysterio turned on him because Mysterio is a coward and a villain. He created Mysterio and now it’s time to destroy him at Wrestlemania.

IMG Credit: WWE

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Kofi Kingston

Penta is defending and Grayson Waller is here with Kingston. They start fast with Kingston sending him into the corner. That’s broken up and Penta strikes away but Kingston is able to get up top. Kingston dives into a Codebreaker though and the slingshot dropkick in the corner gives Penta two. They fight out to the apron with Kingston getting in a shot to take over but calling Waller off as we take a break.

We come back with Penta fighting out of trouble and hitting a reverse Sling Blade. The SOS gives Kingston two, followed by a jumping Fameasser to send Penta outside. Waller picks Penta up but Kingston says he wants to do this on his own. Kingston’s dive over the top is cut off though and Waller drops him onto the announcers’ table. Waller leans over to mock Kingston and gets taken down by a Mexican Destroyer. Back in and Penta dives into Trouble In Paradise, leaving Kingston’s eyes bugging out. Penta is right back up with the Mexican Destroyer to retain at 10:02.

Rating: B-. These two working well together isn’t exactly a surprise and it’s a good idea to have a veteran like Kingston out there to give Penta another nice title defense. Penta is getting some momentum going as champion but I’m not sure what he’s supposed to do at Wrestlemania. He doesn’t have a big challenger right now and they’re running out of time to set one up.

Post match Penta is asked what he’s going to do with the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania. Penta says it’s pain for himself and anyone who dares because it’s going to be….a ladder match. Well of course it will be.

Paul Heyman is discussing a sandwich when Adam Pearce comes in. Pearce asks about Brock Lesnar, who has left the arena. That’s fine with Pearce, who asks if Heyman checked his email yet. Heyman says he hasn’t and there’s nothing overly interesting, so he’s got something to say in the ring.

Here is Heyman, who mocks the lighting guy as possibly being from New Jersey (the fans approve of the mocking) before praising the Vision for winning. He tries to give something back to the fans, like Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar, but here is Pearce to interrupt. Apparently the email said that all charges against Seth Rollins have been dropped, which Heyman seems to lie about knowing in advance.

Heyman isn’t worried because he’s the last manager standing from the 1980s and the last promoter standing from the 1990s. Pearce gets to the second part of the email: Rollins is medically cleared to compete (how this really changes much for Heyman isn’t clear). Cue Rollins from behind with a chair to knock Heyman down. The Stomp is loaded up…but Gunther pops up to choke Rollins out. Gunther even points at the sign (and got his eye cut up somewhere in there). That’s an interesting way to go and it’s certainly a big match for Gunther at Wrestlemania.

Post break we look at what we saw pre-break.

IMG Credit: WWE

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Iyo Sky

Neither get an entrance. Sky is sent into the corner to start but comes back with a quickly broken octopus. A dropkick to the knee sends Rodriguez outside but she cuts off a dive and hits a hard clothesline. Back in and Sky can’t get very far on an armbar so Rodriguez kicks her in the face. A hurricanrana sends Rodriguez into the corner though and Sky hits an Asai moonsault as we take a break.

We come back with Sky hitting a springboard missile dropkick into the running knees in the corner. Over The Moonsault hits raised knees though and Rodriguez Pounces her for two. Cue the Kabuki Warriors as Sky fights up and hits a top rope diving DDT. The running knees connect in the corner again as Asuka yells at Kairi Sane. Sky dives onto Asuka (and lands on her head for a scary crash), which she says she did for Sane. Back in and the Tejana Bomb finishes for Rodriguez at 10:28.

Rating: C+. This was another match that felt a bit tacked on to get us to something at Wrestlemania. Sky doing something against Asuka, possibly for Sane’s freedom, could be interesting, though I’m not sure where that leaves Rodriguez. The match was fine, though it never really got going.

Wrestlemania rundown, with Rey Fenix, Je’Von Evans, Rusev and JD McDonagh now in the ladder match. Also added: Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio and a four way tag for the Women’s Tag Team Titles, featuring the four teams from earlier tonight.

Oh and John Cena is hosting Wrestlemania.

Adam Pearce makes Seth Rollins vs. Gunther for Wrestlemania.

Here is Roman Reigns for a chat. He soaks in some dueling chants and hits his catchphrase…but here is a ticked off CM Punk, who marches to the ring and starts the fight fast. Reigns gets the better of things by knocking Punk outside, where Adam Pearce and security are here again. Reigns loads up the powerbomb but Punk gets out and tries a GTS.

Reigns manages to spear Petey Williams but walks into the GTS. Punk teases leaving and then comes back to powerbomb Reigns through the announcers’ table. Punk sits down next to him and does the crazy laugh before mocking the Roman Reigns chants. Celebrating/posing ends the show. This was a hot angle and it’s nice to see Punk fired up, as this feud is ready to go for Wrestlemania.

Overall Rating: B-. There wasn’t much in the way of great action this week but there was more than enough build to Wrestlemania. You had a few title matches added, plus Gunther vs. Seth Rollins, which should be quit the undercard match. The Reigns vs. Punk stuff is still good and I want to see where it goes at Wrestlemania, which is a good feeling. This wasn’t a great show , though it did get some important things accomplished, which is the bigger deal.

Results
The Vision b. Usos – Brass knuckles punch to Jimmy
Irresistible Forces b. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria via DQ when Alexa Bliss interfered
Penta b. Kofi Kingston – Mexican Destroyer
Raquel Rodriguez b. Iyo Sky – Tejana Bomb

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 23, 2026
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re closing in on Wrestlemania and Roman Reigns is now under CM Punk’s skin. That’s likely going to create an issue on the way to their title match, but there are other things going on as well. Otherwise we have Oba Femi coming after Brock Lesnar, which has all of the hoss fight potential. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Brock Lesnar returning to confront Seth Rollins but getting laid out by Oba Femi instead. That’s a big move, but it’s asking a lot for someone so new to the main roster.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is Lesnar, with Paul Heyman, to get things going. Heyman lists off Lesnar’s various accomplishments but the fans chant for Oba Femi. Heyman warns the fans about getting on Lesnar’s nerves and blames last week’s attack on Femi taking advantage of a distracted Lesnar. Femi is the latest man who is supposed to take Lesnar out, just like Goldberg, Dean Ambrose (!), Bobby Lashley and John Cena, but Femi will be victimized just everyone else. Cue Femi and Lesnar tries the F5, only for Femi to escape and clothesline him to the floor.

Dominik Mysterio is ready to get his Intercontinental Title back tonight.

IMG Credit: WWE

Usos vs. Vision

Non-title and it’s Austin Theory/Logan Paul for the Vision. Before the match, we look at Logan Paul getting into it with Tom Brady at a flag football game. Sounds Wrestlemaniaish. Theory grabs a headlock on Jey to start but it’s off to Jimmy for a double elbow. Jimmy is sent outside and Paul clotheslines him into the timekeeper’s area as we take an early break. We come back with Cole paying tribute to Dennis Condrey of the Midnight Express, who passed away last week. That’s a rather touching moment, especially as Condrey never wrestled for WWE.

Jimmy enziguris his way out of trouble and brings Jey in to clean house. Theory gets sent into the corner and the turnbuckle pad is pulled off. Jey tries a suplex but Theory seems to reverse it into a neckbreaker for two. The spear drops Theory but Paul breaks up the Superfly Splash. The brass knuckles are loaded up so here is LA Knight to take them away. Jey gets the knuckles and knocks Theory cold for the DQ at 7:13.

Rating: C. This was fine while it lasted but the result was about setting up a likely rematch, which is fine enough. The Vision is in a weird place right now but at least they seem to have something of a direction for the Tag Team Titles. Knight being involved makes things a bit more interesting, though I’m not sure how he’ll tie in at Wrestlemania.

We look back at Roman Reigns and CM Punk going face to face last week, with Reigns getting under Punk’s skin.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is Becky Lynch for a chat. Lynch understands what it means to take some time off, because she took ten months off, unlike AJ Lee’s ten years off. She’s ticked off about the lack of respect after losing the Intercontinental Title because she is proud of what she made that title.

When she took some time off to be with her family, her daughter was dancing around to Lee’s music and flipping her hair like that twerp from New Jersey. She didn’t realize that her mother was the greatest of all time (and apparently she’s not the only one saying it). Lee mastered the Divas division but Lynch murdered it.

Cue Lee to chase Lynch off and say that maybe she has to beat her one more time to get rid of her. Say on the biggest stage of them all? She’ll show Lynch why she’s the best wrestler of this generation and apparently Lynch’s daughter’s favorite wrestler and yes the match is on for Wrestlemania. Lynch brings up Lee’s last Wrestlemania match, when she left the day after and we didn’t hear from her for about ten years. Don’t worry because this year Lynch will end her and we’ll never hear from her again. This got personal and it boosted the match up a bit, which is a good thing.

Jimmy Uso thanks LA Knight for the help but Jey still isn’t happy about the whole thing. They calm down a bit, with Jimmy suggesting that Knight watch his words when talking about the family.

Je’Von Evans vs. Grayson Waller

Kofi Kingston is here with Waller. Evans starts fast and sends him to the floor for the big running dive. Back in and a high crossbody gives Evans two but Waller sends him outside as well. Evans switches places with him and hits another dive as we take a break. We come back with Evans hitting another crossbody but Waller slugs him down.

Evans tries a springboard but slips, only to spin back around for a German suplex (nice save). A running knee knocks Waller down again but he pulls Evans off the top. The flipping Unprettier drops Evans again and he gets sent into the post. Evans catches him with a top rope hurricanrana though and the OG Cutter finishes Waller at 8:58.

Rating: C+. They had some slip ups in there but the good thing is they were able to recover in a hurry and the match wound up going fine. That’s a good sign for Evans, as it shows what kind of a head he has on his shoulders. Hopefully that continues, as WWE certainly sees something in him.

Post match Kingston tries to explain why he didn’t help but Waller isn’t convinced.

Paul Heyman comes up to Adam Pearce, who says Heyman is having a heck of a night. Heyman wants a street fight for the Tag Team Titles next week in Madison Square Garden. The match seems to be on, but Pearce tells Heyman to go to the ring now, as he requested. Heyman isn’t happy but goes anyway.

Dennis Rodman is going into the Hall Of Fame. Ok then.

Here is Paul Heyman in the ring to say he’s having a really bad night and not just because after a 40 year Hall Of Fame career he’s making a contractually obligated appearance here in Boston. There is no one for him to hide behind at the moment because all of his men are either gone or injured. At the same time though, he has a stalker who will not leave him alone.

That man is Seth Rollins, and no that isn’t a challenge for a match, because we know how that would go. Instead, maybe Rollins should just come put him out of his misery. The masked man pops up on the announcers’ table (Heyman doesn’t see him) so Heyman keeps calling him out, only to realize who is waiting on him. Some cops show up to get between them and take Rollins away for violating the restraining order (which is apparently a thing).

As Rollins is leaving, Heyman goes on a rant about how Rollins is going to jail and Becky Lynch will marry half of the locker room and his daughter will be adopted by Heyman. Rollins charges away from the cops (Heyman throws the mic at him) and gets in a forearm as Rollins is handcuffed, leaving Heyman looking maniacal.

Post break here what’s you saw pre-break.

IMG Credit: WWE

Kabuki Warriors vs. Lyra Valkyria/Bayley

It’s a brawl to start and Valkyria gets beaten down on the floor. Back in and the Warriors kick away at Bayley, with a basement dropkick taking her down. We take a break and come back with Bayley diving over for the tag to Valkyria. The comeback is quickly on, including a sitout powerbomb for two on Sane.

A delayed vertical suplex is countered by Sane and Asuka is back in to take over. Valkyria kicks her into the corner and a fisherman’s buster sets up Bayley’s middle rope elbow for two. Bayley takes Asuka outside for the Bayley To Belly onto the announcers’ table but Sane saves her from another elbow. Back in and Nightwing finishes Sane at 8:58.

Rating: C+. Well at least they didn’t lose again. I could go with seeing Bayley and Valkyria getting a chance to do something as a team. They work well together and they would fit in well with the Irresistible Forces as some challengers. It still feels like we’re gearing up for a big multi team match for the titles (the Warriors could be in there too), so maybe they’re on the way to setting this up.

Post match Bayley says they aren’t feeling pressure and Valkyria wants the Women’s Tag Team Titles. The challenge is on for next week, with Bayley having to win the crowd back after calling MSG the World’s Most Famous Arena.

We look at Tiffany Stratton’s start in NXT, with Stratton praising what she learned in NXT to bring her here.

IShowSpeed comes in to see Penta, who teaches him the strut. Dragon Lee comes in and Speed is excited to see him. Speed leaves and Penta and Lee seem cool.

Post break, IShowSpeed meets Adam Pearce and is happy that he’s here. Danhausen comes in and suggests they have a show together and split the profits. That’s a no, so Danhausen suggests the show is called “YOU ARE CURSED!” Speed freaks out as Danhausen vanishes, with Pearce wishing Speed luck. Danhausen popping up in the back every week for some wacky shenanigans is the best way to use him, as he certainly shouldn’t be having any serious matches.

Video on Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton’s issues on Smackdown, with Orton saying he’s back to his evil ways because he needs to beat Rhodes. Orton then feigned an apology and took out Matt Cardona, including Pillmanizing his arm.

Asuka yells at Kairi Sane and says she needs to make up the loss. Iyo Sky comes in to say Sane deserves better but Asuka summons Sane away. Raquel Rodriguez comes in to get on Sky for interfering in her match last week and they’re set for next week.

Intercontinental Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta

Mysterio is challenging (and not defending his AAA Mega Title) but here is Stephanie Vaquer to jump Liv Morgan during the entrance. They brawl into the back and we take a break with the two of them having to be separated. Mysterio (with JD McDonagh rather than Morgan) jumps him during the Big Match Intros but Penta is back to knock him into the corner. The slingshot dropkick connects but Mysterio knocks him out to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Penta sending him tot he floor for a flip dive. Back in and a suplex gives Penta two, followed by the Penta Driver for the same. Mysterio is right back with a Michinoku Driver for two of his own but the 619 is broken up. McDonagh offers a distraction though and now the 619 can connect. The frog splash is loaded up but cue Finn Balor for a distraction. Balor takes out McDonagh so Mysterio tries the frog splash, which is reversed into a small package to retain the title at 7:41.

Rating: B-. This was more about having Balor show up in the end to cost Mysterio and that isn’t a bad way to go. Balor vs. Mysterio is all but guaranteed for a big showdown at Wrestlemania and that should be a good way to go. Penta is going to need something to do at Wrestlemania and this should clear him out of the Judgment Day stuff.

Post match Balor runs in to take out Mysterio and hits a flip dive onto McDonagh and Mysterio. As Mysterio runs, Balor gives McDonagh the Coup de Grace.

We look at Oba Femi clearing out Brock Lesnar earlier tonight.

Here’s a Tale Of The Tape of the two of them.

CM Punk is in the Gorilla Position where he meets Jimmy Uso. The audio isn’t great but they both smile at each other after speaking.

Here is Punk for a chat. He says he’s not sure if we could hear what Jimmy said to him, but apparently it was another “watch what you say about the family”. Punk says that’s proof that Reigns can’t do anything without his cousins. Last week Reigns threatened to send the entire family after him but Punk hasn’t seen a single Samoan coming after him. We’re in a s*** talking business in an effort to set up the big fight and that’s what Punk does for a living.

Last week, Reigns was doing the same thing but he said one thing that got to him. Reigns called him old, and the problem was the young boy saying it. So is he old? The fans hit the YES chant and yeah of course he’s old. He’s not ashamed of it though and is even proud of it. If he was worried, he’s be covering up those gray whiskers, just like Reigns does. He’s middle aged and crazy just like Terry Funk. Gordie Howe, better known as Mr. Hockey, was playing until he was 52, so Punk is Mr. Game 7. Age is just a number so ask him how he feels.

Last week this old man dropped Reigns with one punch and at Wrestlemania, he’ll tie Reigns in knots. Gunther didn’t under estimate him but couldn’t get the job done, just like Jey Uso. Cue Uso (Punk: “Is he gonna yeet me to death?”) to say Punk is still running his mouth about the family. Punk says Jey is owed a rematch for the title and they’re ready to go but cue Jimmy Uso to say hang on.

Jimmy says Jey is always getting in trouble because he goes too nuts. He got them disqualified earlier tonight but Jey says he doesn’t care about the Tag Team Titles. Jey is ready to fight…and here is Reigns (Punk does the spooky fingers). After the long entrance, Reigns says the last time he checked, the Usos had a tag match, but it’s over. With all due respect, Jimmy needs to get his brother and leave his ring.

Punk says they should stay because Reigns needs the help. Jey goes after Punk and Jimmy tries to break it up, with Reigns hitting Punk with the Superman Punch. Adam Pearce and company come out and get rid of the Uso, but Jey tells Reigns to get him. The Spear drops Punk and Reigns kicks him to the floor.

Reigns hits the powerbomb to put Punk through the announcers’ table and then screams at him. As Reigns goes to leave, Punk laughs a lot and says he isn’t the one who needs help to end the show. This was some rather interesting stuff as Jey is basically a psycho and Punk is playing them all off of each other. I want to see where this is going and that’s a great feeling going into Wrestlemania.

Overall Rating: B. The Punk vs. Reigns stuff has me wondering where a lot of this stuff is going and hopefully that continues for the remaining weeks before Wrestlemania. Other than that, you have Femi feeling like a real threat to Lesnar and the women’s stuff getting interesting. This was a stronger episode of build towards Wrestlemania and it gave me some needed hope. They still need to set some more things up, which will likely take place next week in MSG. Good show here, with the ending segment having me rather interested.

Results
Vision b. Usos via DQ when Jey used brass knuckles
Je’Von Evans b. Grayson Waller – OG Cutter
Bayley/Lyra Valkyria b. Kairi Sane – Nightwing to Sane
Penta b. Dominik Mysterio – Small package

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 16, 2026
Location: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s Steve Austin Day and odds are that isn’t going to mean much for this show. We’re about a month away from Wrestlemania and the show is needing a shot in the arm. We might get some of that this week as Brock Lesnar is here to hopefully address his Wrestlemania challenge. Let’s get to it.

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

The masked men storm ringside to start things off and Seth Rollins is in the ring. Rollins gets right to the point: he created the Vision and he will be the one to destroy it. He doesn’t care which member you are, but if you stand next to Paul Heyman, you are marked for death. Rollins is the one who attacked Paul Heyman and….here is Heyman, looking like he just fell out of a bus. Rollins is ready to destroy Heyman, who says he wouldn’t miss this for the world. Everyone knows that the rule is FAFO. Heyman: “FAFO. FAFO. FAF….5.”

And here is Brock Lesnar, which has Rollins’ goons surrounding him. Lesnar takes off his hat and wrecks the masked men until he’s alone with Rollins….and here is Oba Femi. Even Lesnar isn’t sure about this one and Femi stares him down. The Fall From Grace immediately plants Lesnar (Cole: “HOLY S***!”) and Femi steps on Lesnar’s chest while pointing to the Wrestlemania sign. Well that works, but DANG Femi better be ready.

We look at last week’s CM Punk showdown with the Usos, who are not happy with how Punk has been talking about Roman Reigns. Punk didn’t back down and got hit in the face for his efforts.

We look at El Grande Americano winning the AAA Rey de Reyes tournament over the weekend. You should check out AAA if you haven’t (it airs on WWE’s Youtube page) as it’s one of the better weekly series going today.

Original El Grande Americano vs. El Grande Americano

Los Americanos are here with Americano. Original hits a quick rolling Liger Kick and crabs an armbar over the top rope. The lackeys get involved for a distraction, allowing Americano to send Original into the post. Original is able to reverse a slingshot into a northern lights suplex for two and they chop it out. A suplex sends Americano over the top onto the other two and we take a break.

We come back with Original grabbing a backdrop but needing a breather. Original’s rolling kick to the head sets up some rolling German suplexes but Americano sends him to the apron. That lets Original take out Rayo and then Bravo, only for Americano to grab his weird Death Valley Driver variant for two. A big kick to the chest rocks Original again and Death Valley Driver gets two more.

Original manages a suplex into the corner and the ankle lock goes on, with Americano making the rope. The rolling Chaos Theory suplex drops Original but the referee is with Rayo. Original Cactus Clotheslines him outside, allowing Bravo to load up Americano’s mask. Original’s Swan Dive knocks himself out and Americano gets the pin at 9:55.

Rating: C+. This was a fine enough match, but dang they need to have the inevitable mask vs. mask match down in Mexico. The fans there are eating up everything these two are doing and it would be great to see them get the chance to show off on the big stage. If nothing else, it’s nice to have them getting something else rather than fall down the ladder by being themselves.

Roman Reigns arrives and runs into the Usos. Reigns says there are consequences for what you say and he grabs the camera, saying his fans should be offended by what CM Punk said. Over Wrestlemania Weekend, Punk belongs to him. He’ll catch up with the Usos later.

We look back at Judgment Day turning on Finn Balor last week.

Liv Morgan says this has been her plan since the day she joined Judgment Day. She only put up with Balor for his relationship with Dominik Mysterio and it has been a pleasure watching Balor fall from grace. It made her sick to call him family every week so they took something out of his playbook. The team is on to bigger and better things, like her beating Stephanie Vaquer for the title at Wrestlemania.

We look at Dominik Mysterio retaining the AAA Mega Title on Saturday, though he isn’t medically cleared for tonight.

The Usos talk to Roman Reigns about how he should deal with CM Punk. He’s heard the part time thing all the time but he doesn’t care because it’s about his wife and children. Reigns will get his apology later tonight.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: AJ Lee vs. Bayley

Lee is defending and gets powered into the corner to start. Some quick rollups give Lee two each but Bayley trips her down. Lee kicks her out to the floor and lets Bayley come back in, where Lee grabs a flipping armbar. Bayley gets out and sends her outside for a change as we take a break.

We come back with Lee reversing a suplex into a crossbody before also reversing the Bayley To Belly. A spinwheel kick gives Lee two and a Standing Sliced Bread drops Bayley again. The Shining Wizard is countered into a half crab but Lee gets out, only to be kneed in the face for some near falls. The Rose Plant is blocked so Bayley goes with the Bayley To Belly for two instead. They slap it out from their knees until the Shining Wizard rocks Bayley. The Black Widow is countered into a side slam but Bayley misses the top rope. Now the Black Widow goes on and Bayley taps at 10:32.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of win that does a lot of good for Lee. She isn’t likely to be around here, champion or not, for very long but she can still beat some of this generation one on one. That’s what Lee did here with a clean win over a big modern name. Bayley is absolutely set and can lose something like this without being hurt so it’s not like there is much of a downside.

JD McDonagh isn’t happy that Dominik Mysterio isn’t getting his Intercontinental Title shot but Mysterio isn’t cleared. Penta comes up and thanks Adam Pearce, who argues with McDonagh some more.

Back from a break and Becky Lynch is attacking AJ Lee in the aisle. Referees try to break it up but Lynch drops Lee with a belt shot to the head.

We look at Randy Orton turning on Cody Rhodes on Smackdown and laying him out on Smackdown.

Here is Penta for a chat before his Intercontinental Title defense. He wants to be a fighting champion because this title is for everyone. And we have a challenger.

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Dragon Lee

Penta is defending and we’re joined in progress with the two of them going to the mat. Lee gets up and does Penta’s strut and then dropkicks him into the corner. Penta is back with a chop of his own, followed by the slingshot dropkick to send Lee outside. Lee is able to get back up for a running flip dive, only for Penta to come back with one of his own. Back in and Penta’s high crossbody gets two and we take a break.

We come back with the two of them slugging it out until Lee manages a Styles Clash for two. A quick Penta Driver gives Penta two more but Lee kicks him out to the floor. One heck of a running flip dive knocks Penta over the announcers’ table and the fans are way into this. Back in and Operation Dragon gives Lee a very close two but Penta is right back up with the Mexican Destroyer for the pin at 11:48.

Rating: B. Yeah this worked as they did the fast paced, non-stop action match that you would want them to do. It worked very well, with that flip dive from Lee looking outstanding. This was about Penta getting in the ring and getting a nice win, with Lee getting to do his thing as well. Very entertaining match.

Post match respect is shown.

The Vision tells Paul Heyman that they’re coming for Seth Rollins but an anxious Heyman says that’s a bad idea. They need power to do what they want and that means getting the Tag Team Titles. Go do something to get the Usos’ attention. Austin Theory is off to do just that, with Logan Paul saying consider it done.

Maxxine Dupri vs. Nattie

Nattie wrestles her down with ease to start and it’s time for some choking in the ropes. Dupri gets tied in the Tree Of Woe for more choking and Nattie grabs a rear naked choke. That’s reversed into the ankle lock, followed by a kick to put Nattie down. A fisherman’s suplex lets Dupri take the straps down for a step up legdrop and a near fall. Nattie is right back with a knockdown of her own though and the Sharpshooter makes Dupri tap at 4:20.

Rating: C. This was about what you would expect from these two, as Dupri showed off her athleticism and spammed the heck out of the ankle lock. Nattie’s whole point is about proving that Dupri isn’t ready and she got so show some of that tonight. Odds are this feud isn’t over yet, which is quite the shame at the moment.

Post match Nattie says the Dungeon is alive.

Randy Orton is on the phone with someone about what he did on Friday, saying he’ll see you soon. Orton stops for an interview with Michael Cole…but he’s changed his mind and isn’t doing it. He will say this though: he had a conversation with someone who has a brain and they made him understand who and what he is. The reality is Orton is a killer and wrestling has more than one royal family.

Je’Von Evans comes up to Dragon Lee, who is banged up from his match. Kofi Kingston pops in to tell Evans to hang out with the right people. Kingston insults Lee and that’s enough for Evans to give him a no. Grayson Waller says he doesn’t get what they see in Evans, but Kingston says that’s how people feel about Waller. Cue Danhausen to say he should join the New Day because they can have curse cereal. He does the New Day Dance but gets a no, so YOU ARE CURSED, with Kingston and Waller arguing over which one got it.

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Non-title and Liv Morgan is here with Rodriguez. Vaquer gets shouldered down to start so she grabs a rolling cradle for two. A big clothesline hits Vaquer and we’re already in the chinlock. That’s broken up just as fast and Vaquer escapes a powerbomb attempt. Vaquer’s running dropkick sends Rodriguez outside, where she launches Vaquer face first into the post. That leave Vaquer’s eyes bugging out as we take a break.

We come back with Vaquer being knocked to the apron, where she gets up top for a high crossbody. Vaquer starts in on the leg and hits the running knees in the corner. Rodriguez is able to block the Devil’s Kiss and a suplex cutter puts Vaquer down. The Vader Bomb elbow misses though and now the Devil’s Kiss works.

Morgan gets up for a distraction but here is Iyo Sky to go after her. Rodriguez is up with a shoulder to put Sky over the announcers’ table but Vaquer superkicks Rodriguez and throws Morgan into the timekeeper’s area. Back in and Vaquer tries a high crossbody, which is reversed into a powerslam. The Tejana Bomb is loaded up but Vaquer reverses into a rollup for the pin at 10:06.

Rating: B-. The interference got a bit messy at the end but Vaquer gets to look solid in a win on the way to Wrestlemania. It is hard to imagine Vaquer retaining the title at Wrestlemania but she needed a chance to get back in the fans’ mind. Sky wanting to destroy Morgan is an interesting side story and I like where this is going.

Lyra Valkyria tries to talk to Bayley about her Wrestlemania prospects but Bayley cuts her off. The idea is for them to do it together but the Kabuki Warriors come in, with Asuka blaming them for her recent loss. Revenge is teased. Of note: the Vision was shown in the background, talking to a woman I believe was Maxxine Dupri.

We look back at Oba Femi laying out Brock Lesnar and their Wrestlemania match is set.

The Usos run into LA Knight, who wants to take out the Vision as well. As for Roman Reigns, it’s Family business and Knight needs to mind his own business. Knight respects the idea but he doesn’t want the Bloodline coming back.

Here is Roman Reigns for a chat. Reigns hits the catchphrase and says the fans know who closes this show. The thing is Phil gets a little confused because this is Monday and this is Reigns’ show so come on out here. Punk comes out and takes his sweet time circling the ring until Reigns welcomes him to his show. Punk says Reigns keeps calling him Phil when it’s supposed to be an insult.

That’s a friends and family thing and he should call Reigns “Titi Tiaki” or whatever his real name is. Punk certainly isn’t going to call him Joe because that’s insulting to a real Samoan named Joe that he loves very much. Reigns hasn’t sent any Samoans after Punk but he has told them to do whatever they need to do. Punk shows the proof that this is his show by asking how good it feels to be alive in San Antonio.

Punk knows he has already won because he is in Reigns’ head, though the fans chanting for Reigns cuts him off a bit. Reigns says the fans are calling Punk out, with Punk saying that he called Reigns out last week because he wasn’t here. Reigns says that he’s heard the part timer thing for years and if Punk wants to know what the top stars do, go ask his wife. That’s enough for Reigns to leave, but Punk cuts him off, saying Punk decides when he leaves on this show.

Punk promises him a GTS at Wrestlemania so Reigns says he didn’t want to go here. Everyone knows Punk is great on the mic but he can’t phase Reigns, who is the most successful star Punk has ever faced. At the end of the day, the truth is Punk isn’t stronger, faster or anything than Reigns. He isn’t even as good looking as Reigns. Punk is a try hard because he’s….old.

That’s enough for Punk to hit him with a right hand so agents come out to stop him, with Reigns laughing. With a ticked off Punk being escorted out, Reigns looks into the camera and talks about making Punk snap with one word. This feud is working for the simple reason (one of many) that you can believe these two do not like each other at all. It’s making these exchanges feel genuine and it comes off like a Wrestlemania main event, which is a job well done.

The show is dedicated to Davey Coates, the international tour manager who passed away last week.

Overall Rating: C+. This show illustrated the same thing as the last few weeks of Smackdown: outside of a few things, this company doesn’t feel like it’s in Wrestlemania mode. The main event segment was great and Femi vs. Lesnar could be awesome, but a good bit of the rest of the stuff is just kind of there. Some of it is good and could be worth your time in Las Vegas, but it isn’t making me hyped for the show. They need more of a feeling that this is what matters more than anything else and I’m not sure they can make that feel effective with about a month to go.

Results
El Grande Americano b. Original El Grande Americano – Swan Dive
AJ Lee b. Bayley – Black Widow
Penta b. Dragon Lee – Mexican Destroyer
Nattie b. Maxxine Dupri – Sharpshooter
Stephanie Vaquer b. Raquel Rodriguez – Rollup

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 9, 2026
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re just over a month away from Wrestlemania and that means it’s time to start setting the stage for the biggest show of the year. The main title matches are set but there are quite a few spots to go. One of those spots might be filled tonight as we have a gauntlet match to crown a new #1 contender for the Women’s Intercontinental Title, plus the Intercontinental Title is on the line. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Seth Rollins laying out the Vision last week.

Here is Adam Pearce in the ring to get things going. Unfortunately it is time to have a conversation with someone he knows is in the building tonight, so Seth Rollins needs to get out here. About twenty masked men jump the barricade, with one of them standing on the announcers’ table. A bunch of them get in the ring and run around until only one is left. He unmasks as Rollins and Pearce says that these people deserve something better.

Rollins is only five months removed from surgery and these run-ins will only work for so long. Cue the Vision to say they’re here to take out Rollins’ goons. Rollins raises his hands and a bunch of the masked men jump in. Rollins remasks and they run around in circles to confuse things and then escape. That’s a unique idea and it worked well. Cue LA Knight to go after the Vision but the numbers get the better of things. The Usos run in for the save. That’s a really clever idea for Rollins and I’m curious about what he’ll be doing at Wrestlemania, though Brock Lesnar still feels like a real option.

Post match the Usos say they don’t care about Seth Rollins because they have receipts to give out to the Vision. And no, Jey has nothing to say to CM Punk after what Punk said to Roman Reigns…but Jimmy thinks they might.

Gauntlet Match

For a future Women’s Intercontinental Title match. Lyra Valkyria is in at #1 and Iyo Sky is in at #2 with Sky working on the arm. That’s reversed and Sky spins up for a standoff. Valkyria’s spinwheel kick gets two but Sky is back up with a dropkick to the floor. The suicide dive connects but Valkyria gets back in for a dropkick through the ropes. We take a break and come back with Sky hitting the Bullet Train Attack. Valkyria comes right back with a fisherman’s suplex for two but Sky knocks her down again. Over The Moonsault finishes Valkyria at 9:21.

Raquel Rodriguez is in at #3 and gets dropkicked through the ropes before she even gets inside. The Tejana Bomb is broken up so Rodriguez goes with something of a Pounce to send Sky flying. We take a break and come back with Sky hitting the Bullet Train Attack. Cue Liv Morgan for a distraction so here is Stephanie Vaquer to brawl with Morgan up the aisle. Sky goes up top for a super small package of all things to pin Rodriguez at 16:08. Rodriguez is ticked and posts Sky, followed by a Tejana Bomb on the apron. Ivy Nile is in at #4 (looking a bit like a mini Beth Phoenix) and easily pins Sky at 17:25.

Bayley is in at #5 and gets jumped on the floor as we take another break. We come back with Sky grabbing a chinlock but Bayley fights up in a hurry. Bayley’s running knee against the ropes has Nile in trouble and a middle rope elbow to the back of the head gets two. The Bayley To Belly is countered so Bayley sends her into the corner for two off a sunset bomb. Nile is back up with a rather delayed vertical suplex and hammers away on the ropes. They head outside with Bayley getting the better of things. Bayley knocks her back inside and hits the Bayley To Belly and gets the pin at 28:05.

Asuka is in at #6 to complete the field and is immediately forearmed on the floor. Asuka is right back with a shot of her own and we take a break. We come back with Asuka grabbing an ankle lock, which is reversed into a kneebar. That’s broken up so they fall out to the floor, only for Asuka to hit a quick knee back inside. Bayley is back with a running knee of her own for two, with Asuka’s kicks to the head getting the same. A Bayley To Belly gets two more but Kairi Sane interferes. Cue Valkyria to take out Sane, leaving Bayley to escape the Asuka Lock. The Rose Plant finishes Asuka at 37:15.

Rating: B. This got a lot of time but didn’t feel that long, which made for a good result. Bayley moving on to get the shot against AJ Lee is a good choice, as she’s someone who can be a threat to win the title but could also be a nice victory for Lee. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Bayley get a rare win over Asuka.

We look back at last week’s Roman Reigns/CM Punk showdown.

We look at Maxxine Dupri attacking Nattie.

Danhausen meets the Original El Grande Americano and wants to try on his mask. Americano likes Danhausen’s ideas but he has no tiempo for this. That earns Americano a curse and Danhausen disappears. Americano isn’t convinced as some men follow him.

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Original El Grande Americano

Penta is defending and thanks the fans for believing in him, just like he believes in himself. He’s ready to defend this title every single day and make history as the new Intercontinental Champion. He’ll fight anyone…and we have an odd replacement.

IMG Credit: WWE

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. El Grande Americano

As in not the original (presumably dealing with curse related issues) and he is challenging. Americano starts fast but gets kicked down, meaning Penta can strut. Back up and Americano elbows him in the head, followed by the right hands in the corner. Penta is knocked to the floor and taken out, leaving Americano to pose near the title.

We take a break and come back with Penta snapping off the Sling Blade and adding the slingshot dropkick in the corner. Americano cuts him off in another corner though and hits a Death Valley Driver for two. Penta pops back up to pull him out of the air a middle rope Codebreaker, followed by the Mexican Destroyer to retain at 10:37.

Rating: B-. Penta getting a win is a good thing to see, as he won the title after slipping so many times. Now he needs to show that he can keep the momentum going and a win like this helps. I’m not sure how long he’ll be keeping the title, but he’s off to a good start. We’re also gearing up for Americano vs. Americano, and that could be a blast if they have things go in the right way. Like say in Mexico, where it’s a much hotter feud.

We get a video from Stephanie Vaquer, who talks about how Liv Morgan hides behind a variety of people. Vaquer grew up with nothing but it made her become what she is today. Morgan worked hard to get here but while Vaquer sees her as a fighter, Morgan sees her as someone talented. Morgan better bring everything at Wrestlemania.

Liv Morgan is mad about the video but Dominik Mysterio comes in, saying he needs to talk to Finn Balor. He’s heading to the ring and asks the ladies to come with him.

Post break here is Mysterio, with Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. He gets right to the point by saying he wants Finn Balor and JD McDonagh out here right now. They come out and Mysterio yells at Balor, who asks if he got it all out. Balor says it was his fault that Mysterio lost last week and he is sorry. He was just trying to help, but sometimes Mysterio has to fight his own battles if he wants to be the best Mysterio ever.

The more Balor tries to help, the more he realizes that Rey was right: Dominik is just a spoiled little CENSORED. Dominik shove him and gets dropped with a Pele Kick. A Sling Blade takes Dominik down again but McDonagh cuts him off. The team beats Balor down, with Dominik hitting him with the bell hammer. The hammer is loaded into the shoe for a 619, followed by the frog splash. Another frog splash onto a chair onto Balor leaves him laying. That had to happen sooner or later and it’s good that everyone turned on Balor rather than some splintering.

Adam Pearce gives Je’Von Evans the week off but Kofi Kingston and Grayson Waller come in. Kingston asks Waller for a minute and says he and Evans got off on the wrong food. Kingston apologizes because he sees a lot of himself in Evans. Back in the day, Kingston was the new kid with a lot of moves and he became WWE Champion. Evans just needs the right team behind him, so think about it. That doesn’t seem to work for Evans, but he doesn’t give a flat out no.

Bayley is happy with her win but thanks Lyra Valkyria for helping her out. The title is coming next week and Valkyria can have the first shot.

IMG Credit: WWE

Oba Femi vs. Rusev

They stare each other down and trade clotheslines into right hands. Rusev’s running splash in the corner doesn’t work as a big boot puts him down. Femi clotheslines him to the floor, where Rusev gets in a shot of his own. Rusev knocks him off the apron and hits a running spinwheel kick onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Rusev strikes away, including the Machka Kick. Femi pops back up and sends him flying with a toss though, setting up the Fall From Grace for the pin at 3:08.

Rating: B-. This was exactly as advertised with Femi looking like a killer. Some of the power stuff he was doing was rather impressive, just as it was for him to shrug off Rusev’s hard shots. If Rusev isn’t going to do anything important, this was about as good of a use as he has. Solid hoss fight here, with the absolutely right result.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Here is CM Punk for a chat to a rather positive reaction. He wasn’t sure how that would go but hits his catchphrase and brings up the Seattle Seahawks. There are some people who aren’t happy about what he said to Roman Reigns but Reigns has never respected him. The fans chant for Reigns so Punk says hold your breath and he might show up. Reigns may never respect him, but Punk will make Reigns respect the position Punk holds.

The fans deserve a fighting champion and he levels this place up. Cue the Usos, with Jey demanding Punk apologize right now but Punk asks why Reigns is sending his cousins to do his dirty work. Jimmy says this is about respect and Punk is the voice of the voiceless. He wants Punk to apologize as well, so Punk says Jimmy is right. If Reigns can hear him, he hopes Reigns and the Usos are listening.

They go back a long way, because Punk respected Sika and worked under Afa (Sika’s brother, Reigns’ uncle) for things like gas money or advice. The family has respected him for years, except for that one son of a b****. Punk sees Reigns as a fake, lying narcissistic person but Jey says this isn’t about Reigns. Jey says they need Punk to apologize, with the fans agreeing. Punk thinks about it and does say he’s sorry…that Reigns treated the rest of the family like garbage.

Reigns never apologized for how he treated the Bloodline and for insulting Dusty Rhodes. Reigns isn’t on the hook for that but Punk has to apologize? If Reigns cared at all, he’d be in the ring right now instead of his young boys. Jey shoves Punk and Jimmy drops Punk with a right hand. The Usos leave and Punk is ticked to end the show. They’re trying to blur the lines with the respect stuff here, but I’m not sure the fans want to boo either of these guys.

Overall Rating: B. The good thing here is that you can see where a lot of these stories are going, or at worst we’re getting closer to those things taking place. There is still a long way to go before Wrestlemania but they have enough of a card set that it’s a mixture of setting up new things and advancing what is already set. The pace needs to pick up and some of that seems to be coming in just the next few weeks. Keep doing that and we could be in for a heck of a Wrestlemania build, though that is far from guaranteed.

Results
Bayley won a gauntlet match last eliminating Asuka
Penta b. El Grande Americano – Mexican Destroyer
Oba Femi b. Rusev – Fall From Grace

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 2, 2026
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re officially out of big stops before Wrestlemania as we are done with Elimination Chamber and the Wrestlemania title matches are set, at least for now. That leaves us with about six weeks before Wrestlemania and we have a title match to get through here, as Penta challenges Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Elimination Chamber if you need a recap.

Long recap of Elimination Chamber.

Here is the Vision to get things going and Paul Heyman is not happy. Heyman says this is where someone is supposed to welcome us to the show but they are here to talk about Seth Rollins, who returned at Elimination Chamber. Rollins is the single biggest thief…and we pause for the fans to sing.

Heyman talks about how he can’t stand that song before talking about how Rollins keeps stealing the main event of Wrestlemania from people who don’t deserve it. He threatens Rollins before handing it off to Austin Theory, who says Rollins stole the victory from Logan Paul. That leaves Paul to talk about how the last person to eliminate three straight people in the Chamber was Brock Lesnar because that is the kind of company he keeps.

Paul threatens to hold the show hostage until Rollins gets out here but here are Adam Pearce and security to cut him off. Pearce says this can’t happen because Rollins isn’t cleared to compete, but here is a masked man over the barricade. Security gives chase and here’s another masked man to draw out Paul. A third masked man draws Theory away and Heyman suddenly realizes he’s all alone.

Cue another masked man, this one through the entrance, but a fifth pops up from behind and unmasks as Rollins. A Roman Reigns style chair shot to the back puts Heyman down and Rollins hits a Stomp. Cole says that was Heyman getting his a** stomped out but I’m pretty sure it was his head. Rollins leaves through the crowd and medics come in to check on Heyman, who is bleeding from the mouth.

Post break we watch what we saw before the break and Heyman is taken away in an ambulance but Jimmy Uso pops out of a car to jump Austin Theory, apparently believing that the Vision attacked Jey Uso. With Theory down, Jimmy goes to the cab of the ambulance…and LA Knight drives it away.

IMG Credit: WWE

Gunther vs. Dragon Lee

Lee jumps him in the aisle and hits a dropkick through the ropes. Gunther is back with a great looking backdrop into the timekeeper’s area and we take a break. We come back with the match joined in progress with Gunther slowly hammering away, including going after the mask a bit. Some choking on the ropes has Lee in more trouble but he fights back with some kicks and manages to knock him outside. A dropkick connects with Gunther again but Gunther chops the heck out of him and we take a break.

We come back with Lee chopping away and hitting some running clotheslines. Gunther goes for the mask again but gets kicked in the head, allowing Lee to hit the running dropkick in the corner. Operation Dragon is countered into something like an Emerald Flosion for two and we slow back down. The powerbomb plants Lee again but Gunther picks him up at two. They head outside for an apron powerbomb and then another onto the announcers’ table, leaving Lee looking mostly done on the floor.

That’s good for an eight before Gunther tries another powerbomb, which is countered into a Code Red. Lee is back up with a suicide dive to knock Gunther over the table and Operation Dragon gets nine as Gunther beats the count. Back in and Lee actually drops him with a clothesline but Gunther pulls him into the sleeper. Gunther isn’t playing here and rips the mask off (with the camera getting a clear shot of the uncovered face) so Lee immediately taps at 12:22.

Rating: B-. Lee still being alive after those powerbombs might have been a stretch and I’m rather sick of the “rip the luchador’s mask off” finish, but they hit another gear there at one point. If you’ve got me thinking there was a chance for Lee to actually beat Gunther (even by countout), something is going right. I liked this way more than I was expecting and that is nice to see.

Asuka yells at Kairi Sane over not winning the Elimination Chamber but Sane says Asuka complimented her last week. That earns Sane even more yelling before Asuka leaves. AJ Lee comes up to check on Sane, who is almost in a trance (Lee: “Blink twice if you need anything.”) until Asuka shouts for her.

Demolition is going into the Hall Of Fame. That’s about as overdue as you can get.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is AJ Lee for a chat. She’s back to do more than snatch the hair off of Becky Lynch’s big head. She thanks the fans for having her back and remembering her when others wanted her to be forgotten. Now she’s the Women’s Intercontinental Champion after beating Lynch and having the scars to prove it. She’s exactly who she thought she was and Wrestlemania is in front of her. We’re not waiting for then though and she’s going to be a fighting champion. She mentioned a bunch of women she wants to fight so come at her.

Earlier today, Penta ran into the Original El Grande Americano, who wished him bueno suerte. Americano wants the first shot when Penta wins the Intercontinental Title, with Penta saying cero miedo. With Penta gone, Los Americanos came in, with an argument over which of them is the real version. Apparently they’re fighting at Rey de Reyes, but Original wants to fight one of them tonight.

IMG Credit: WWE

Liv Morgan talks about being ready to face Stephanie Vaquer and prove herself again. Morgan lists off her resume and is ready to take the title at Wrestlemania.

Original El Grande Americano vs. Rayo Americano

The other Americanos are here too. Grande goes after the arm to start but Rayo fights back, almost out of desperation. La majistral gives Grande two and a frustrated Rayo bails to the floor. Bravo dances a bit for a distraction but Grande knocks Rayo outside for a flip dive off the apron. Another distraction lets Rayo post Grande though and we take a break.

We come back with Grande hitting a rolling kick to the head, followed by something like a reverse Angle Slam. The ankle lock goes on but Rayo flips him into the corner. Rayo goes up top, where Grande belly to belly superplexes him back down. Grande tries for the mask so Bravo offers a distraction, allowing Americano to hit the (presumably) loaded headbutt. Rayo’s Swan Dive gets two so he goes after Grande’s mask, which has Grande fighting back. Americano’s interference doesn’t work so it’s a rolling Chaos Theory to give Grande the pin at 10:07.

Rating: B-. This whole Americanos thing is some of the goofiest stuff I’ve seen WWE do in a long time but what matters the most is hitting a big blowoff. Doing that at Rey de Reyes has me wondering just how crazy they’re going, because it could be a lot of fun. The wrestling itself is good, but put this in front of the right audience and a mask vs. mask match could be excellent.

Penta is ready to win the Intercontinental Title.

We look at Oba Femi wrecking Miz on Smackdown.

Here is Rusev on the announcers’ table to call out Femi for a fight right now. Cue Femi, who says come in here and make something happen. They go face to face and actually slug it out with Femi getting the better of things to clear Rusev out.

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria talk about having a bad run lately but Valkyria wants to make sure Bayley gets to Wrestlemania. Valkyria suggests the Women’s Intercontinental Title but Bayley says she cost Valkyria a title match already so they should both go. They get to Adam Pearce’s office but Iyo Sky is walking out at the same time.

Jimmy Uso vs. Austin Theory

Uso jumps him to start but gets dropped with a spinning right hand. Back up and Uso knocks him to the floor for the suicide dive and it’s time for the announcers’ table. A superkick puts Theory on the table but Uso has to dive on Logan Paul. Theory gets back in and the double teaming is enough for the DQ at 2:40.

Post match Jey Uso is already back to make the save, complete with crutches.

Adam Pearce is on the phone with Nick Aldis but runs into Danhausen. He has some demands, like a Hall Of Fame induction, his face on the trucks, and something about a camera boy. The paper is wet as he dropped it in a toilet so Pearce isn’t pleased. Judgment Day comes in (Pearce is off to drink) and Danhausen doesn’t know JD McDonagh’s name. They don’t like him, with Dominik Mysterio saying that no, he can’t have the Intercontinental Title. That earns Mysterio a CURSE and Mysterio is gone.

Here is Rhea Ripley, with Iyo Sky, for a chat. Ripley talks about how bad things have been for the two of them, but then everything changed on Saturday. She thanks Sky for being everything to her and getting her out of a dark place. Sky is proud of her and says she’ll be ok on Raw, while Ripley can go win the title at Wrestlemania. Ripley looks into the camera and says she’ll be at Smackdown and leaving Wrestlemania as champion.

IMG Credit: WWE

Intercontinental Title: Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio

Mysterio, with Judgment Day, is defending. They start fast with an exchange of kicks and Penta sends him to the floor for the early running flip dive. We take a fast break and come back with Penta kicking him in the back of the head for two. Mysterio grabs an Edge-O-Matic (which I believe he has named the Mullet-O-Matic) for two and they go to the apron, where Penta gets planted with a DDT for two. Penta tries to kick back but gets sent to the floor for a big step up dive. A running crossbody sends Penta over the barricade and we take another break.

We come back with Penta kicking away in the corner, including the slingshot dropkick for two. The Backstabber out of the corner gets two more but Penta charges into a Michinoku Driver. The 619 connects but Mysterio dives into the Sacrifice. A Penta Driver gets two more and a ticked off Penta stomps away in the corner.

The charge misses into the post though and Penta has hurt his shoulder. Mysterio tells McDonagh to get the bell hammer but Balor cuts it off, saying Mysterio needs to do it himself. Penta’s big running flip dive takes Judgment Day out and the Mexican Destroyer gives us a new champion at 16:25.

Rating: B-. This was kind of a slow paced match for awhile but Penta getting the big upset win is a great thing. He’s been the kind of guy who has been around the title picture for a long time but hasn’t won anything, so it’s nice to see it actually happen. Mysterio feuding with Balor is a fine way to go, especially if he gets the title back so Balor can get a big win of his own. It’s not like Mysterio is going to lose his heat anytime soon.

We see a clip from after Elimination Chamber, where Nick Aldis had to be held back from Drew McIntyre. As a result, McIntyre is defending against Cody Rhodes this Friday on Smackdown. McIntyre came out to yell and Aldis even took his jacket off before being held back.

Here is Roman Reigns for a chat and after a break, he hits the catchphrase but gets cut off by CM Punk. He does the one finger and points out that he’s acknowledging Roman, which is all Reigns wants. Reigns brings up a tweet he sent out about Punk, who says he isn’t bothered by it because he doesn’t get mad at what people say about him on podcasts and such. Punk says he’s got to put up with Reigns’ bulls*** for seven weeks and the first stop on the Road To Wrestlemania is here in Indianapolis.

This is where the Shield debuted because Punk brought them up. Reigns: “You brought the other two. Not me.” Punk talks about how he’s under Reigns’ skin and it’s translucent because he can see right through Reigns. It’s true that Reigns hates him but what Phil is missing is that if he didn’t have the title, Reigns would be indifferent to him. Punk is back to entertain the 38-40 year old virgins who still live with their parents. Or maybe to sell some t-shirts and draw a house in Chicago. But being champion?

That’s above Punk’s pay grade because he’s a liar. Reigns says Phil has people believing that he’s a locker room leader who has some great time. Every second that Punk is b******* and moaning back there, Reigns’ cousins are telling him about it because Punk is just a punk a** b****. When Reigns wins the title, he’s putting Punk on a John Cena retirement tour. Then Punk can go down to NXT to teach these people how to do what they do and then they’ll come up to the main roster where Reigns smashes them.

Reigns goes to leave but Punk stops him, saying they have to cover some things. Punk wants to know what Reigns means by “we” because Reigns is all alone. There are no more Samoans or even a wise man because Punk took the wise man away. Reigns is the one chasing him because Punk runs things around here.

Yeah he’s hanging out with Reigns’ cousins and the reality is Reigns can’t get it done by himself. Punk doesn’t care if Reigns doesn’t love him but Reigns will respect him. That puts Reigns on the list, because he’s not just getting beaten but he’s getting buried. Then he won’t be all alone anymore, because Punk is going to bury him next to his father. Punk leaves and Reigns is not happy with how personal that just went.

This worked rather well, as it had me wondering how much of this was a story and how much was two people airing some grievances. I want to see where it’s going from here and I have no idea how the Wrestlemania match is going to go, which is one of the best feelings you can have for a match, especially one of the biggest of the year.

Overall Rating: B+. You may like where things are going for Wrestlemania or you may not. What matters is that WWE seems to have a card in mind with a month and a half to go. Right now you have the four main singles title matches and there is a good chance you can pencil in Usos vs. Vision and Rollins vs. possibly Brock Lesnar. This show did some serious work to get us there and I’ve heard worse cards. It would be nice to have Smackdown doing the same, which very well maybe the case this Friday. Raw did well this week, though there is still a long time before Wrestlemania.

Results
Gunther b. Dragon Lee – Sleeper
Original El Grande Americano b. Rayo Americano – Rolling Chaos Theory
Jimmy Uso b. Austin Theory via DQ when Logan Paul interfered
Penta b. Dominik Mysterio – Mexican Destroyer

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

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