WWE Vault Grab Bag V
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Lord Alfred Hayes, David Crockett, Jim Ross

It’s time to dip back into the randomness that is the WWE Vault (and various other WWE Youtube channels) as there is a lot of stuff I’d like to see. Today we’re going to look at some more random entries, which could be a mixture of matches and/or segments. Either way, they should be from all over the place so let’s get to it.

From a WWE house show in Jonesboro, Arkansas, August 26, 2017.

John Cena vs. Samoa Joe

From what I can find, this is only one of two matches they ever had in WWE, with the other one coming the previous night. Joe powers him down to start and Cena starts bouncing a lot. A headlock slows Cena down again before running the ropes, with Cena hitting a shoulder. Cena’s headlock doesn’t work very well as Joe backs him into the corner for the quick shot to the face.

Joe sends him outside and then kicks him down back inside, meaning we get what looks like a Hulk Hogan pose of all things. A quick AA attempt is blocked and Joe’s enziguri gets two, meaning it’s time to get frustrated. Joe puts him down again for two more and knocks Cena into the corner, leaving Joe to walk around for a bit. Cena avoids a charge in the corner, only to get elbowed in the face.

Joe misses the backsplash though and Cena starts the usual comeback. The AA is countered with a grab of the rope and the referee gets knocked outside. Cena gets the STF for the unseen tap and of course lets go, allowing Joe to get in a low blow. Joe grabs a chair but Cena ducks and hits the AA for the clean pin at 10:00.

Rating: C+. This was more of a “whoa that match happened” and that’s not a bad way to go. It’s one of the appeals of a house show as a few fans got to see the match, even if it was rather basic. That’s all it needed to be and while I could have gone with a far bigger stage, I’ll take getting to see them have a decent match.

From a WWF house show in Long Island, New York, October 24, 1997.

Tag Team Titles: D-Generation X vs. Legion Of Doom

LOD is defending and Michaels tells a fan to suck it as Animal shoves HHH into the corner to start. Animal powers both of them down at the same time as Chyna is not pleased on the floor. We settle back down to Hawk slamming Michaels, who bails outside, with HHH and Chyna massaging the back of his tights. Back in and Michaels bails straight to the floor, only to get gorilla pressed by in by Animal, where Hawk clotheslines him right back to the floor for a big pratfall.

We settle down a bit with Animal grabbing a headlock and grinding Michaels down again as it’s all LOD thus far. The bearhug goes on but Michaels gets out and hands it off to HHH, who gets bearhugged as well. That’s broken up a bit faster and it’s a high/low to take over on Animal. HHH knocks Animal into the corner and Michaels comes back in with a sleeper. A belly to back suplex puts Michaels down but he makes the tag at the same time, allowing HHH to come in for a sleeper of his own.

It’s already back to Michaels for a front facelock but he accidentally ax handles a cheating HHH. The tag brings Hawk back in and the fans certainly seem to approve. Everything breaks down and Michaels gets in a belt shot to Hawk for the pin and the titles at 13:01. And hang on as here’s another referee to say what happened so no title change, as it’s a DQ instead. Actually the brawl keeps going and NOW it’s a DQ. Ok then.

Rating: B-. This was a fun match and that’s all I can ask for with a match like this one. What mattered the most here was that they had two teams who were both working hard and it felt like a big match. You don’t get that kind of thing very often and it was better than I was expecting. Michaels and HHH were a good team in their own right and the LOD had so much experience that they could do this kind of match so easily. I’d call this a nice surprise and it actually lived up to some of its hype.

Post match Chyna gets in and jumps Hawk, leaving DX to have to break up a Doomsday Device. Michaels chairs Animal but Hawk takes it away and sends Michaels running to wrap it up. Somehow DX wins on a DQ, presumably because the LOD beat them up too much. You know, instead of the belt shot which was called.

From a WWE house show in Leeds, England, November 8, 2021.

Walter vs. Cesaro

That would of course be Gunther before the name change. Cesaro backs him up against the ropes to start and gets shoved away. Walter misses the big chop and it’s off to a test of strength, with Walter actually getting the better of things. Cesaro’s headlock takeover puts Walter down for a change and grinds away for a little while. Back up and they trade the shoulders, with Cesaro’s jumping version working a bit better.

A shot to the throat puts Cesaro down though and we lower the pace. The double arm crank goes on, with Walter knocking him down to cut off an escape bid. The chinlock has Cesaro in more trouble and this one stays on for a good while. Cesaro fights up and knocks Walter down, so naturally the fans want the Swing. That’s not happening so they strike it out instead until Walter hits the dropkick.

The powerbomb gets two and it’s off to the sleeper to put Cesaro down. That’s broken up in a hurry though and Cesar scores with Swiss Death. Now the Swing goes on and Cesaro follows with the Sharpshooter, sending Walter over to the rope. The springboard uppercut is blocked though and Walter kicks him in the face. A whip into the post sets up a German suplex into the top rope splash to give Walter the pin at 14:27.

Rating: B. This started slowly and the chinlock in the middle hurt it a bit, but this wound up being quite the hard fought match. That’s what the match needed to be as you kind of know what you’re getting when you have Cesaro vs. Walter. Cesaro wasn’t about to go over the up and coming monster, but they had a good fight here and that’s what it was supposed to be.

From a WWE house show in Dublin, Ireland, June 18, 2005.

Smackdown World Title: John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Kurt Angle

Cena is defending and a certain Steve Austin is guest referee. This is also a rare outdoor match and it’s a cool visual with various buildings and trees in the background. JBL yells about being a former champion before the match and shadow boxes/kicks while Angle makes his entrance. We’re clipped to Angle elbowing Cena as JBL is down on the floor. A backdrop sends Angle outside so JBL is in to boot Cena in the face.

We’re clipped a few times to Cena fighting out of JBL’s sleeper but a big boot drops him again. We’re clipped again to Cena superplexing JBL and making the comeback. Cena initiates the finishing sequence and hits the FU for two on Angle. We’re clipped again to JBL countering the ankle lock and sending Angle outside. Cena loads up the finishing sequence on JBL but Angle is back in with an accidental belt shot to Austin.

Angle is kicked outside and the Clothesline From JBL drops Cena, with another referee running in to count two. Cena kicks a chair into JBL’s face so Angle grabs the chair, only to get cut off with a Stunner. Austin pokes JBL’s eye into the AA to retain the title at about 5:00 shown. I’m not going to rate it due to the cuts but it felt like a house show match with Austin there to spice it up a bit.

Post match Austin and Cena celebrate.

From WCW Saturday Night, May 14, 1994.

WCW World Title: Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair

For the vacant title after they went to a draw at Spring Stampede. They go to the mat to start and Steamboat grabs an armbar, with Flair having to escape. Steamboat reverses a headlock into a hammerlock but Flair is back with the half crab. That’s broken up as well and Steamboat grabs a gorilla press to send Flair to the apron, where a suplex brings him back inside.

Cue Colonel Robert Parker with a briefcase full of money as Flair is sent outside again. Back in and Steamboat drops him with a shoulder but runs into a right hand to the ribs. Flair knocks him into the corner and slowly hammers away as we take a break. We come back with Flair sending him outside and then back inside for some near falls. Steamboat can’t armdrag his way out of an armbar but he can chop the skin off of Flair’s chest.

An atomic drop out of the corner gets Flair out of trouble and he grabs a chinlock. Yes he puts his feet on the ropes and no that shouldn’t be a surprise whatsoever. Back up and they chop it out again with Steamboat getting the better of things, allowing Flair to be rocked even more than usual. Steamboat’s dropkick misses though, as does Flair’s big elbow drop. Flair is back with a poke to the eye and Steamboat needs a breather on the floor. Back in and a sunset flip gives Steamboat two but he charges into a boot in the corner.

As usual Flair goes up top and as usual he gets caught and superplexed for two. Flair plants him down for a breather though and we slow the pace a bit. A poke to the eye lets Flair grab a sleeper, with Flair even on Steamboat’s back. That’s finally broken up and Steamboat chops away again as we take another break.

We come back again with Steamboat winning another chop off (it works, so keep going back to it) but getting his dive punched out of the air. Back in and Flair misses a knee drop, allowing Steamboat to wrap the knee around the post. The Figure Four has Flair in trouble, with Heenan screaming how to break out. Flair finally makes the rope (now what Heenan said to do but it did work) so Steamboat is right back on the leg. Steamboat chops him so much that Flair falls down for two and we take a third break.

We come back again with Steamboat missing something off the top and they’re both down again. Steamboat comes up favoring his own knee, allowing Flair to grab a delayed vertical suplex. His own leg is hurt as well though and it’s another double down. Flair is up and on Steamboat’s leg, with the Figure Four going on. The ropes makes it even worse, but the referee finally catches Flair to break it up. Steamboat knocks him back down but Flair is still up first, only to get caught with a chop. A gorilla press brings him crashing down but they’re back up with another collision.

Steamboat’s sleeper is countered into a belly to back suplex so he goes up again, with Steamboat top rope superplexing him for a crash. A big chop off the top gives Steamboat two and he tries the high crossbody but hits both Flair and the referee. Back up and they trade rollups for two each as they’re somehow still moving at a high speed about 45 minutes into the match. Steamboat tries a leapfrog but seems to get headbutted low, giving Flair the pin and the title at 47:06. Parker never got involved at all.

Rating: A-. There’s a reason these two wrestled each other so many times for the better part of twenty years. Sweet goodness this was amazing stuff with both guys staying crisp throughout and a sense that the match really could have ended multiple times. It’s just high level, technically incredible wrestling between two guys who could do this stuff in their sleep. It says a lot when this is pretty firmly on the low end of their series, as it’s an instant classic with only the kind of sudden ending holding it back. Definitely check this out, plus pretty much anything else they’ve done, ever.

From a WWF house show in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, January 16, 1989.

WWF Title: Randy Savage vs. Bad News Brown

Savage, with Elizabeth, is defending in a Harlem Street Fight and they’re both in street clothes. Brown jumps him on the way in and they’re quickly outside with Savage striking away. A headbutt cuts Savage off though and a chair is thrown inside so Brown can use it to choke. Brown takes him back outside but punches the post, allowing Savage to ax handle him back inside.

Savage takes off his weightlifting belt and blasts Brown in the ribs. Brown is back up with another chair shot and sends Savage crashing over the barricade. A table (remember, this is 1989) is set up in the corner but Savage sends Brown into said table. There’s no referee as Brown hits the Ghetto Blaster for no count. A slam gets the same result so brown yells at the referee, allowing Savage to grab a backslide to retain (with the count from a second referee) at 6:49.

Rating: B. This didn’t last long and no it wasn’t as smooth as the kinds of street fights etc. that you would see in the future, but these guys beat the fire out of each other and it felt like a fight. The big thing here was that Brown basically beat him up and then got caught in the end. There was absolutely something to Brown, who was WAY ahead of his time and could have been incredible about ten years later. Still though, good stuff here, with Savage being more than capable of doing this kind of thing.

Post match Brown kicks Savage outside and then ties the original referee up in the Tree Of Woe. Brown easily takes Savage down into the corner but Savage is back up with a running ax handle. Some other wrestlers come in to break it up, or at least they do after a few misfires.

From WCW Worldwide, May 14, 1988.

NWA United States Tag Team Titles: Midnight Express vs. Fantastics

The Express, with Jim Cornette, is defending and after their usual pre-match hugs, we’re ready to go. Fulton and Lane start things off with Fulton knocking him down without much trouble. A running shoulder drops Lane again and it’s time for the champs to regroup. Lane wrestles him down and quickly gets a hammerlock, which works so well that he does it again.

We take a break and come back with Lane getting double hiptossed, allowing Rogers to work on an armbar. Rogers sends Lane outside so it’s off to Eaton for a change. Eaton gets in a standing chinlock but charges into a headscissors. Lane teases coming off the top for the save but Fulton shakes the ropes to bring him down and then chills on the top in a great spot.

We take another break and come back with Lane on the floor before coming back inside to headlock Fulton. That’s broken up and it’s back to Rogers to work on Lane’s leg. That earns him an enziguri though and Eaton comes back in, only to get taken down as well. Eaton is knocked to the floor and sent into the post as the Midnights are all discombobulated. Back in and Eaton takes over on Fulton, who comes off the middle rope with a kind of hip attack for two.

A hurricanrana takes Eaton down again and we take another break. We come back with Eaton getting in a shot to the throat, followed by Lane’s karate kick to the chest. The hammerlock goes on and the fans get behind Rogers, with Cornette losing his mind on the floor as only he can. Rogers gets sent into the wrong corner again, with Lane grabbing a Russian legsweep for two more.

We take another break and come back again with Eaton working on the arm. Rogers fights up and brings Fulton back in, only for the Midnights to pull him down into a seated abdominal stretch. Fulton’s throat is pulled across the top rope and an elbow gives Lane two. We take yet another break and come back with the bleeding Fulton getting neckbreakered for two. Eaton goes up top and drops the elbow for two more, followed by Lane kicking away in the corner.

The referee stops to check on Fulton’s cut but Rogers bets him not to stop the match. Fulton grabs Anderson’s leg to beg as well so Lane kicks Fulton in the face. Cornette is up on the apron to demand the match be stopped…and Rogers missile dropkicks Eaton into a rollup to give Fulton the pin and the titles at 36:48.

Rating: A. This has been called the greatest tag match to ever air on television in the United States and….yeah it’s kind of hard to argue. The Midnights were as good of an in-ring team as you could get at this point (if not ever) and the Fantastics could go move for move with them. There is nothing in here remotely bad or even less than good, as everyone is working hard and looks incredibly crisp. Throw in that Eaton hat a 100+ degree fever and was so sick that Cornette was asking him if they needed to cancel the match and it’s even better. Absolutely check this out as it’s a tag team wrestling clinic.

From a WWE house show in New York City, New York, December 26, 2017.

Intercontinental Title: Roman Reigns vs. John Cena

Reigns is defending and I guess this works if it’s all you’ve got. They fight over a lockup to start as the fans are split, as usual in a big cena match. Reigns backs him up against the ropes so Cena grabs a headlock as they’re taking their time to start. That’s switched into a chinlock as Reigns can’t get very far early on. Back up and they go to a test of strength, with Reigns powering him out to the floor. Cena gets back in and is pretty easily knocked down, followed by a headbutt back outside.

We hit…I’m really not sure as it’s a one camera shoot and the fans are in the way but Cena takes over on the floor. Back in and the AA attempt is broken up but Cena grabs a tornado DDT. Reigns fights back with some big right hands and Cena’s comeback is cut off with the corner clotheslines. A big boot drops Cena again but he’s right back with the usual finishing sequence. The AA is countered into a sunset flip to give Reigns two, as does the Samoan drop.

The Superman Punch is pulled into the STF, only for Cena to let go to pull him back to the middle. Now the Superman Punch gets two, as does the AA, with the fans losing their minds on these near falls. Cena goes up but dives into a sitout powerbomb to leave them both down. Back up and they slug it out until Cena tries the AA again. That’s escaped though and the spear retains Reigns’ title at 17:59.

Rating: B. They had the big fight feel going here and that’s what it needed to be. This was the main event with the biggest star of the previous generation coming back to go after one of the biggest stars of today. That’s a main event level match and Cena knows how to bring it as well as anyone else. Good stuff here, especially for a house show with a red hot crowd.

From a WWE house show in Lafayette, Louisiana, March 10, 2024.

Kevin Owens/Becky Lynch vs. Grayson Waller/Nia Jax

Ok then. Waller’s running shoulder can’t get anywhere with Owens and a stomp on the foot doesn’t do much better. For some reason Waller shoves him in the face before handing it off to Jax. A shove actually puts Owens down and it’s off to Lynch for a high crossbody. Lynch kicks her way out of the corner and hits a Diamond Dust for two. The Disarm-Her is blocked so Lynch dropkicks her out to the floor instead.

Waller gets ping ponged between the two of them and a double suplex puts him down again. Jax is back in to run Lynch over though, setting up a reverse Stinkface in the ropes. The regular version makes it even worse as Lynch is gagging. Owens even gives her some water to wake her back up. Lynch fights out of the corner but Waller is right there to cut off the tag.

A Samoan drop gives Jax two and she can’t believe the kickout. Jax’s charge hits the post though and it’s off to Owens to beat up Waller. The backsplash gives Owens two but the Stunner is blocked. Jax forearms Owens into a rollup for two but misses a charge. Lynch Stunners Jax and Owens does the same to Waller, setting up the Manhandle Slam for the pin at 9:44.

Rating: C+. This was the definition of a fun house show match and that’s always nice to see. They didn’t do anything too complicated here and it was all about giving the fans something unique. Owens and Lynch worked well together and they beat up some annoying villains. What else do you want?

From Over The Limit 2012.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan

Punk is defending. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get anywhere on the ropes. Instead Bryan grabs a headlock and hits a running shoulder, only to get hiptossed down. Punk takes him into the corner and starts in on the leg, including some cranking on the mat. Back up Bryan is able to flip over him out of the corner but the leg is kicked out again.

An Indian Deathlock is broken up as Bryan forearms him in the head, only for Punk to come back with a curb stomp. Bryan gets sent crashing out to the floor but drives Punk back first into the barricade. Punk is draped ribs first across the barricade and we hit the seated abdominal stretch back inside (with commentary reminding us that Kane recently injured Punk’s ribs).

Bryan switches into a surfboard with a dragon sleeper, followed by a heck of a running knee to the back. The Swan Dive gives Bryan two but Punk gets up for a double collision. Punk leg lariats him and hits the swinging neckbreaker as the comeback is on. A backdrop sends Bryan outside and the knee is banged up again. The suicide dive connects but Bryan is able to dropkick him out of the air.

One heck of a kick to the head gives Bryan two so he goes up, only to get crotched. A springboard clothesline gives Punk two and they go into a pinfall reversal sequence. Bryan can’t get the LeBell Lock but he can get kicked in the head for two. The top rope elbow connects but Punk’s knees are banged up again. Bryan gets the LeBell Lock in the middle of the ring, only for Punk to stack him up for the pin at 24:14. Punk taps a second after the pin but it is clearly after.

Rating: A-. This was every bit of the technical masterpiece that you would expect, with the hard strikes and some high flying thrown in. Punk winning clean is a bit of a surprise and thankfully they didn’t do anything screwy by having him tap at the same time. Naturally this didn’t headline the show because it wasn’t…let’s see here…John Cena vs. Johnny Ace. No wonder Punk had a chip on his shoulder.

From a WWF TV taping in Lowell, Massachusetts, August 18, 1993.

Mr. Hughes/Giant Gonzalez vs. Mr. Perfect/Randy Savage

This is the biggest “well ok” match I’ve seen in a bit and Harvey Wippleman is with the villains. Savage gets an interesting introduction with Mike McGuirk telling the fans to “give it all you got” for him. Hughes shoves the rather popular Perfect into the corner to start and then easily punches him down.

It’s off to Gonzalez, who looks even weirder than usual slowly hammering on Perfect. Hughes is back in and gives up the tag to Savage (who could pass for a Captain America knockoff), who is choked down by Gonzalez. A clothesline drops Savage again and it’s back to Hughes to miss a charge into the corner. Perfect comes back in to slug away, including a backdrop. Savage adds a top rope ax handle and Perfect gets a small package for the pin at 7:10.

Rating: C. The weird thing is this match actually made me feel bad for Gonzalez. There is only so much he could do against people literally a foot and a half shorter than him and that became quite the problem. Savage and Perfect couldn’t do much more than punch him, leaving Hughes as the only one they could do anything against. It’s not good, but it certainly had the spectacle.

From a WWE house show in Sydney, Australia, March 3, 2006.

Smackdown World Title: Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker

Angle is challenging. Orton bails to the floor to start, where some women are VERY excited to see him. We’re clipped to Orton back inside, with Undertaker hammering away. Orton bails outside so Angle rolls Undertaker up for two, earning himself a shot to the face. Henry comes back inside to choke Undertaker, as does Henry’s manager Daivari. Angle ankle locks Orton over the barricade, sending him into the crowd.

The other two join them, with Undertaker popping Orton with some right hands, sending him onto a woman who certainly does not seem to mind. Back in and Undertaker chinlocks Angle until Orton rather slowly rolls in for the save. Henry comes in to beat up Undertaker but Orton has to save him from the ankle lock. Undertaker is back up to stomp on Orton, who breaks up Old School.

A superplex puts Undertaker down for two and we’re clipped to Orton breaking up a superplex to Angle. The RKO is blocked but the Angle Slam hits Undertaker instead. We’re clipped again to Undertaker sitting up and chokeslamming Orton for two with Henry making a save. The Angle Slam finishes Orton to retain the title at about 9:00 shown. I won’t rate it due to the clips but what we saw looked good.

Post match Undertaker goes after Orton but has to beat up an invading JBL.

As has been the case with many shows over the years, we’ll wrap it up with a small package. This one features a collection of Mortis dark matches in WWE.

Velocity dark match, August 16, 2003.

Mortis vs. Austin Aries

Or “Austin Arius”, who is billed from St. Louis, where the match happens to be taking place. Aries strikes away to start but misses a high crossbody, allowing Mortis to strike away in the corner. A reverse Walls Of Jericho sends Aries over to the ropes and he gets some boots up in the corner. Aries is back with a discus forearm and a clothesline out to the floor. The slingshot dive misses but Aries is right back up for a missile dropkick. A sitout Dominator finishes Aries at 3:38.

Rating: C. I’m kind of surprised Aries didn’t get a closer look, as he was aggressive here and had some good looking high flying. You could tell he had the athleticism and balance that let him move around rather well. On the other and you have Mortis, who certainly looked cool and could have been fine enough without the Mortal Kombat stuff.

Velocity dark match, August 23, 2004.

Mortis vs. Truth Martini

Mortis punches him down to start but misses a springboard legdrop. Martini’s springboard spinning legdrop misses as well, allowing Mortis to hit a superkick. Back up and Mortis sends him into the corner for a middle rope Boston crab before sending Martini into the post. The crossarm choke goes on and a suplex drops Martini again. A tornado DDT gives Martini two of his own but he gets caught in an electric chair faceplant for the pin at 4:37.

Rating: C-. Ah now this was more like it, as there was nothing to Mortis here other than the look. Mortis does look cool, but his offense was “do a move, stand there, do another move, stand there again”, and so forth. That only works for so long and made a four and a half minute match feel a heck of a lot longer.

Velocity dark match, August 30, 2004.

Mortis/Funaki vs. Jack Bull/Mike Knox

Mortis strikes away at Bull to start so it’s off to Funaki, who gets beaten down by Knox. Bull comes back in to strike away. A reverse tornado DDT gets Funaki out of trouble and it’s back to Mortis. Everything breaks down and Mortis finishes Knox with a lifting Downward Spiral at 4:32.

Rating: C. Again, there’s just not much to say about these matches. Mortis is creepy looking but is teaming with the eternally likable Funaki against a pair of big bald guys. There was nothing to the match and Mortis certainly didn’t stand out, which is kind of the point of the whole thing.

Velocity dark match, October 25, 2003.

Mortis vs. John Walters

This is joined in progress for some reason with Walters flipping over him and hitting a clothesline for two. Walters’ neck crank doesn’t last long as Mortis is back up with a corner clothesline and a middle rope bulldog out of the corner. The superkick gets two and a sitout Alabama slam finishes Walters at 3:07.

Rating: C. Much like the previous matches, there’s something to the idea of this weird looking guy who does unique moves, but the whole Mortis deal was played so slowly. It was like Chris Kanyon was thinking “ok so I’m Mortis now” rather than getting into doing anything. This was another weak match and I’m not surprised WWE didn’t do anything with Mortis as a result.

Overall Rating: A-. The Mortis matches aren’t great, but they’re about the only things close to weak in this set. When you have the Flair vs. Steamboat match, that incredible Midnights/Fantastics match and the rather awesome Punk vs. Bryan match, almost anything else is going to be fine. I got lucky this time with a great set of matches and some actual rarities, which made for a rather fun (albeit crazy long) viewing. Check out those three matches for sure though, as they’re all worth your time.

 

 

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Underrated Backlash Classics
Commentators: Tom Philips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Paul Heyman

Tis the season I guess as the WWE Vault is looking back at Backlash over the years. It’s a series that started almost thirty years ago and that means there is quite a bit too look back on these days. At the same time, looking at the underrated stuff is often a lot more interesting than seeing the more famous stuff again. Let’s get to it.

From Backlash 2018.

US Title: Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy

Hardy is defending. Orton knocks him down with a shoulder to start but Hardy comes back up with a dropkick. That’s enough for Orton to be sent to the floor for a big clothesline from the apron, only for Orton to come back with a dropkick of his own. The Whisper In The Wind is broken up and Hardy gets tied in the Tree Of Woe. Orton stomps away (yes seriously) in the corner and Hardy is knocked outside.

That’s fine with Hardy, who hits his half of Poetry In Motion against the barricade. Back in and the springboard is cut off with another rather awesome Orton dropkick and Hardy crashes out to the floor. Back in and Hardy is dropped ribs first across the top rope, setting up the chinlock. Hardy fights up and knocks him down for the legdrop between the legs. A basement dropkick connects as well, followed by the Whisper In The Wind for two.

Orton is back up with a powerslam for two more but Hardy kicks him into the corner. The slingshot dropkick (dubbed the Hardiac Arrest, a name which never caught on) misses though and the hanging DDT drops Hardy again. The RKO is loaded up but Hardy reverses into a quick Twist Of Fate. That and the Swanton retains the title at 11:50.

Rating: B-. It was good seeing Hardy get a win over Orton, even if it wasn’t quite when Hardy was at his peak. It’s no surprise that these two can have a good match together as they’re both rather talented and have some history. They were firmly in the midcard here and it makes sense to put them together like this, as you know it’s going to be pretty good at the worst.

From Backlash 2000.

Light Heavyweight Title: Dean Malenko vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

Malenko is defending and jumps Malenko to start but Scotty hits a backdrop. A clothesline gives Scotty two but the bulldog is cut off with Malenko’s own clothesline. Malenko starts working on the leg and drops some elbows before cranking away. The leg is wrapped around the post a few times and Malenko drops an elbow on the knee to cut off a comeback attempt. Scotty’s leg is kicked out again and Malenko baseball slides the leg to keep things fresh.

A rollup gets two on Malenko, who blasts Scotty with a clothesline to cut him off again. Back up and Malenko kind of tackles him out to the floor for a double crash. They get back in and Malenko superplexes him down and they both need a breather. The Texas Cloverleaf is countered into a small package for two but Malenko suplexes him down.

Scotty escapes a powerbomb though and hits the bulldog into the Worm for two. Malenko’s rollup gets caught with his feet on the ropes so he goes with a heck of a tiger driver for two instead. Malenko actually goes up top so Scotty follows, only to get pulled into a super DDT to retain at 11:48.

Rating: B-. I knew that ending was coming and it still looked great as Malenko planted him. The Light Heavyweight Title didn’t have the greatest history in the WWF but this was one of the better matches. It’s kind of annoying that Scotty is so well remembered for the goofy stuff as he could certainly go in the ring, though I’d assume his bank account doesn’t quite see it that way.

From Backlash 2006 (I was there).

Money In The Bank/Intercontinental Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Shelton Benjamin

This is winner take all. Benjamin wrestles him down with ease to start before starting in on the arm. Van Dam reverses into a wristlock of his own but gets taken down with an armdrag, leaving him a bit impressed. A rollup gives Van Dam two and Benjamin hides in the corner for a change. Van Dam kicks him down to the floor and Benjamin kicks the steps to blow off some steam.

Back in and Van Dam kicks him down again, setting up a slingshot dive to the floor. With Van Dam on the apron, Benjamin hits a running sunset bomb to the floor for the nasty crash and Van Dam is in trouble for a change. We hit a chinlock with a knee in the back, followed by a running knee lift for two. The reverse chinlock goes on for a bit, with Van Dam fighting back.

The kicks put Benjamin down, only for the Rolling Thunder to be countered into a Samoan drop for two more. Van Dam fights up again and goes to the top, where Benjamin jumps from the mat to the floor for a superplex and another near fall. Benjamin’s dropkick misses though and Van Dam makes the clothesline comeback. A springboard kick to the face sets up Rolling Thunder to give Van Dam two and they’re both back up.

Van Dam’s step over kick to the face connects but the Five Star misses. A nice DDT (Van Dam always sold those well) gives Benjamin two so he sends Van Dam face first into the apron. Back in and Van Dam rolls through a high crossbody for two but the referee gets bumped. Benjamin grabs the briefcase but Van Dam takes it away and hits a Van Daminator. The Five Star gives Van Dam the pin and the title at 18:41.

Rating: B. I’ve seen this match quite a few times and it has grown on me over the years. It’s longer than it needs to be but there is something to be said about seeing Van Dam facing someone more athletic. You don’t see him have to go there very often but he knows how to make a comeback. Good match here, even if Van Dam would lose the title back very shortly thereafter.

From Backlash 2001.

Hardcore Title: Raven vs. Rhyno

Rhyno is defending and misses an early Gore attempt, hitting a stop sign by mistake. A running trashcan shot to the head gives Raven two but Rhyno’s running shoulder connects in the corner. Raven gets kicked out to the floor for two and Rhyno sends him into the steps. A jumping clothesline off the steps drops Rhyno for two and Raven sends him back inside…to knock him right back to the floor. Rhyno trashcan lids him down for two more so let’s get a shopping cart.

Said cart hits Raven in the face on the way back inside but he drops toeholds Rhyno face first into the cart. Some street sign shots to the head put Rhyno down and a bulldog out of the corner gets two. Rhyno is back up with the cart, which is knocked down onto his face and then driven into his ribs in the corner. Another shot cuts Raven off though and Rhyno Gores…the cart, even getting stuck inside of it. Raven unloads on him with a sink, which just wakes Rhyno up so he can hit the Gore for the retaining pin at 8:12.

Rating: B. This was about two guys beating each other up and making the weapon stuff feel better than usual. The shopping cart was a nice bonus and the Gore that went into it is certainly a memorable spot. You don’t see these matches reach this level very often but dang they made it work here. Heck of a match.

From Backlash 2002.

Cruiserweight Title: Tajiri vs. Billy Kidman

Kidman is defending and gets sent into the corner to start, meaning it’s time for the tradition exchange of chops. A catapult sends Kidman into the corner but he comes back out with a missile dropkick. The fans respond by chanting for Torrie Wilson (in Tajiri’s corner and forced to wear a rather covering robe) and Kidman is knocked into the ropes.

Tajiri heads outside and hits a heck of a kick to the head for two. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Kidman is sent back first into the post. The backbreaker keeps Kidman in trouble and the Tarantula makes it even worse. With that broken up, Tajiri’s handspring elbow is dropkicked away but Tajiri kicks him right back down.

A bridging rollup gets two so Tajiri superkicks him for two more. The powerbomb (which Tajiri is so known for using) is countered into a faceplant but Kidman misses the shooting star press. Tajiri’s Buzzsaw Kick gets two (that was a surprise) so they head up top. A super sitout spinebuster gives Kidman two but Tajiri mists him down for the title at 9:11.

Rating: C+. That near fall off the Buzzsaw Kick was good, as was Kidman’s top rope spinebuster but that’s about all that stood out here. I kept waiting for Wilson to get involved but nothing ever happened. It’s a good enough match, but Kidman was almost squashed for a lot of it.

Overall Rating: B. Yeah this was fun, as Backlash has a nice built in advantage from coming straight off of Wrestlemania. You have some momentum coming in and get some good stuff on the card as well. That was the case here, as you had some matches with Wrestlemania fallout and some stuff which was just good on its own. I liked this as a flashback, as there has been some quality stuff at this show over the years, even without touching the main events.

 

 

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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Money in the Bank 2010
Date: July 18, 2010
Location: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Attendance: 8,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Matt Striker, Jerry Lawler

This was streamed almost a year ago and for me, that’s a pretty fast turnaround. One of the things that often interests me is looking back at a show that I haven’t thought about since maybe two days after it originally aired. This is the inaugural standalone edition of the match, which makes it a bit more interesting as there was already a Money In The Bank match at Wrestlemania. Other than that there’s…well whatever else is on this show. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about what you are willing to risk to have your dreams come true. Makes enough sense.

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kane vs. Big Show

For the Smackdown briefcase and Kingston is Intercontinental Champion. Striker talks about how Jack Swagger (6’6) has set the precedent for giants winning the briefcase. Cole immediately points out that size means nothing in these matches, cutting Striker off at the knees in the process. It’s a big brawl to start with Rhodes setting up a ladder and trying to go up. That doesn’t work well at all, as Kane and Show break it up and get in a fight of their own. Show gets the better of things and tries to climb…but breaks the rung.

After beating some people up, Show throws the ladder over the top and down onto Kane. Show goes outside to get a different ladder and is promptly beaten down. McIntyre loads up another ladder and sends Christian into it, meaning it’s time to set up the ladder inside. Hardy cuts him off but has to trade saves with Christian. Ziggler goes up top and slugs it out with Christian, who shoves him down.

Hardy breaks that up as well but the two of them have to double DDT Kane. Christian drops Hardy onto a bridged ladder but Hardy fights back and goes up again. That’s broken up as McIntyre pulls him down and sends various people into the post. Kane is back again and loads up the announcers’ table (Lawler makes sure to get his WWE Slurpee out of the way) but opts to grab a ladder instead.

Kingston (hey he’s still in this match) dropkicks the ladder into Kane’s face and then hits Trouble In Paradise to knock McIntyre onto the announcers’ table. The Boom Drop off the ladder drives McIntyre through the table (Striker: “That’s a Money In The Bank moment for Kofi Kingston!” Shut up Striker.) and they’re both down. Ziggler goes up and gets chokeslammed by Show, who then gets in a fight with Kane.

Show knocks him outside and then crushes Hardy and Christian underneath another ladder. That’s enough for Show to go outside and grab a huge, extra thick ladder. The ladder apparently weighs 350lbs so Show….can’t pull it over the top. He finally wakes up and shifts it underneath the top rope to get it inside. That takes way too long though and Rhodes makes the save with a ladder shot to the knee.

Ziggler pulls Rhodes down and goes in the direction of the giant ladder, with Show having none of that. Kingston springboards onto the ladder and tornado DDTs Show down. Rhodes dropkicks Kingston but gets sent crashing into the ladder to leave everyone down. It’s Show up next and climbing the big ladder, with Kane shoving him off and out to the floor. That means it’s time to bury Show underneath a pile of ladders, which is quite the visual.

A bunch of people go up the big ladder (which is big enough for two people to go up one side at a time), with Kane wrecking almost everyone. Ziggler jumps up behind him and grabs a sleeper, earning him a crash onto the pile of ladders (and Show underneath). Kingston is chokeslammed onto the same pile before Kane chases Rhodes up the ramp.

Rhodes is rammed into one of the armored trucks, allowing Kane to go up the ladder again. That’s cut off by Hardy and Christian’s double powerbomb, who get in a fight on top of the ladder. Both of them go crashing down…and McIntyre crawls back inside. He makes the slow climb, only to get chokeslammed by Kane, who gets the briefcase to win at 26:19.

Rating: B. There was a great match in there somewhere but it went on a bit too long and that hurt the whole things a bit. As a result, it was more just a good one, with all kinds of carnage and some big crashes. Show being buried was cool and Kane felt like an unstoppable monster who finally won the thing. I liked it quite a bit, but shave about five to eight minutes off and it’s that much better.

Raw World Champion Sheamus doesn’t want to hear about John Cena and the Nexus. Sheamus has been watching Nexus’ random attacks but he believed he was untouchable. Then on Raw he stared into their eyes and it was like looking at a soulless great white shark. He knows you have to worry about the Nexus, but no, of course he doesn’t respect Cena. Tonight, he’ll give Cena a worse beating than the Nexus did because he’s a bigger threat.

Raw Women’s Title: Eve Torres vs. Alicia Fox

Fox is defending. They fight over a lockup to start until Torres gets some rollups for two each. Torres’ running knee in the corner connects but a tornado DDT is blocked. Fox sends her back first into the apron and then bends said back over her knee. The double arm crank is on to stay on the back but Torres monkey flips her way out. Torres’ back gives out a bit but she’s able to put Fox down, setting up the standing moonsault for two. A kick to the head looks to set up a middle rope Swanton, which hits Fox’s raised knees. The ax kick retains the title at 5:53.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t a particularly great match but they had an easy story to follow and it made perfectly simple sense. You could see things going a bit better for the division around this point as the women were certainly getting at least a bit better. We were a long way off from it being great, but this is definitely a better result.

We look at Jack Swagger attacking Kane on Smackdown, with Rey Mysterio making the save and beating up Papa Swagger (as played by Bunkhouse Buck).

Swagger is on the phone with his mom, who isn’t happy with what he did. He finally tells her to shut up and seems to blame his father for what happened. Swagger says his dad got what he deserved for trying to steal the spotlight. He couldn’t risk Kane hurting him and his dad would have done the same thing. Tonight his dad can bask in his glory when he wins the World Title.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Hart Dynasty

The Usos, challenging and with Tamina (while Natalya is with the champs) have only been around for about two months and this is their first feud. Smith and Jey trade waistlocks to start with Smith getting the better of things. Kidd comes in for a hurricanrana but Jey goes with the more classic method of hitting Hart in the face. It’s off to Jimmy (thank goodness for different tights) to stomp away in the corner, followed by Jey’s running Umaga Attack for two.

The chinlock goes on but Smith is up with a backdrop to get out of trouble. Jimmy is right there to cut off the tag though and some stomping gets two. We’re already back to the chinlock, which is broken up just as fast for the tag to Kidd. House is cleaned but Kidd misses a blind tag and gets tossed into a Samoan drop for two. The Superfly Splash hits raised knees and it’s back to Smith for the big shoulder. Tamina’s distraction breaks up the Sharpshooter so Natalya takes her down, meaning the Sharpshooter can retain the titles at 5:53.

Rating: C+. This was a Raw match and pretty much nothing more, making it another case of filler. That’s kind of what happens when you have a pair of eight person matches as you don’t have much else to fill in the card. Unfortunately this isn’t the kind of a match that can be stretched out much longer, as 2010 wasn’t the best time for the tag division (granted that could be said about most of the time for….decades really).

We recap Rey Mysterio defending the Smackdown World Title against Jack Swagger. Mysterio won the title in a four way last month but now he has a torn ligament in his ankle. That’s quite the target for Swagger.

Smackdown World Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger

Mysterio is defending and badly limping on the way to the ring. Swagger goes right for the ankle to start, with Mysterio bailing straight to the ropes every time. An ankle lock attempt is cut off by some kicks to the head but it’s way too early for a 619. Instead Swagger powerslams him into the corner and ties him in the Tree Of Woe. The running shoulder misses though and Swagger bails outside, with Mysterio hitting a top rope seated senton

Back in and Mysterio gets caught on top, setting up a release belly to belly superplex. They head back outside, with Mysterio being sent into the announcers’ table for two back inside. Swagger starts in on the leg but Mysterio gets up, only to dive into…something like a Samoan drop. The running Vader Bomb misses though and Mysterio sends him into the corner for a split legged moonsault and a near fall. The sitout bulldog is countered into a wheelbarrow suplex to drop Mysterio again and a gutwrench powerbomb gets two.

A hurricanrana sends Swagger into the post but Swagger picks him up for a super powerslam. That’s reversed into a tornado DDT for a rather near fall and now the 619 connects. The West Coast Pop is blocked though and the Vader Bomb crushed Mysterio. Another Vader Bomb hits but Swagger would rather go after the leg than cover. The ankle lock goes on but Mysterio loses his boot and grabs a hurricanrana to retain at 10:46.

Rating: C+. So Swagger is done as a main eventer right? His whole thing is working on the ankle and he was fighting a much smaller opponent who had a bad ankle. Not only did he look like an idiot for not covering after hitting his other finisher twice, he then loses at all. The match was fine as a midcard fight, but this really didn’t feel like a World Title match.

Post match Swagger jumps him again and grabs the ankle lock. Cue Kane for the save and he chases Swagger to the back. Mysterio gets back up…and Kane is back with the briefcase. Eh points for a nice fake out.

Smackdown World Title: Kane vs. Rey Mysterio

Mysterio is defending and tries to limp away but gets caught with a chokeslam. A Tombstone gives Kane the pin and the title at 53 seconds.  It’s LONG past the point where Kane got another title so I’ll take it.

Edge is watching in the back when Chris Jericho interrupts. Edge tells him he has eyes in the back of his head and they bicker over Money In The Bank in hushed tones.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Layla vs. Kelly Kelly

Layla is defending and Michelle McCool and Tiffany are here too. To give you an idea of where the title was at this point, Layla’s big issue with Kelly is….she thinks Kelly smells bad. Kelly slaps her into the corner to start but misses a handspring elbow. Layla can’t get very far and is kicked outside, where she ties Kelly’s knee up in the ring skirt. That means Layla can start in on the leg, with McCool getting to laugh at her.

Layla baseball slides Kelly into McCool, who sits on the barricade to pose a bit. Kelly shoves her down and hits the K2 back inside, with McCool putting the foot on the rope. That earns McCool a double clothesline on the floor so Kelly tries a middle rope sunset flip, which is (badly) reversed into a rollup to retain at 3:53.

Rating: D+. This was quite the mess, with the interference either not doing much or feeling like it was just a way to fill in time. That’s on top of Kelly losing clean in the end, which is hardly a way to make her look like important. And again: a title match was set up over someone smelling bad. What more do you need to know here?

We look back at the Smackdown Money In The Bank ladder match and Kane cashing in.

Randy Orton vs. The Miz vs. Mark Henry vs. Ted DiBiase vs. John Morrison vs. Chris Jericho vs. Evan Bourne vs. Edge

Raw Money In The Bank, Miz is US Champion, and DiBiase’s theme music starts with “IT’S A NEW DAY!” Like that would ever catch on in wrestling. Edge throws in a ladder and gets inside for the opening bell before bailing out to the floor. The other seven clear the ring so Edge goes up the ladder with Orton making the save. DiBiase drops Morrison onto a ladder but Bourne cuts him off with a ladder shot.

Miz and Jericho get in a fight, with Miz actually getting the better of things until Henry throws a ladder at both of them. Henry gets knocked outside so Bourne goes up, with Orton making a save this time. The hanging DDT drops Bourne off the ladder but Morrison is back up with a Flying Chuck to Orton. Miz and DiBiase get sent into a ladder bridged in the corner so it’s time for a bunch of people to go up. Henry makes the save and clears out a pair of ladders but gets knocked down as well. With everyone on the floor, Maryse (here with DiBiase) takes off her heels and goes up but Morrison pulls her down.

The distraction lets DiBiase get most of the way up until Morrison makes another save. Miz leans a ladder against the post on the floor as Cole starts singing his praises. Morrison is right there again and uses the ladder to climb up top, where he then rides another ladder to the main ladder to stop Edge.

Unfortunately that lets Edge trap Morrison in the ladder and put another ladder over him but DiBiase is back in. A ladder winds up upside down and we’ve got a big old contraption. For some reason DiBiase dives at Henry, who plants him with a World’s Strongest Slam. Miz gets dropped onto a ladder onto Jericho but Edge and Orton cut Henry off from the climb. Henry is sent outside, where he gives Bourne a World’s Strongest Slam of his own. Edge spears Henry and a bunch of people climb up at once.

DiBiase is laid on a bridged ladder and shoved down to the floor for a heck of a nasty crash. An RKO hits Edge, leaving Edge and Morrison to go up top. Jericho winds up hanging upside down and Bourne hits Air Bourne on Orton. Bourne touches the briefcase but Jericho pulls himself up for the save. Jericho shoves Bourne down for a heck of a crash of his own so Edge goes up at the same time. Edge knocks Jericho into an RKO but gets shoved into the upside down ladder (OUCH). Orton goes up but gets shoved down by Miz, who gets the briefcase for the win at 20:38.

Rating: B. This was a bit shorter than the opener, though it didn’t have quite the same huge feeling as the other either. At the same time, I can absolutely go for Miz winning as you have to give someone new the chance. Despite not being the most popular star, Miz absolutely earned this and he elevated himself through the roster for years to get to this point. It’s a heck of an earned moment and I still love it. Other than that, this had some big, hard hitting spots but it was a pretty run of the mill Money In The Bank ladder match, which isn’t the best result when it’s the third of the year.

Post match Miz grabs the mic and rants about how this validates him because he is a future WWE Champion. This is a heck of a promo and you can tell Miz is happy with showing that he is on this level.

We recap Sheamus defending the Raw World Title against John Cena. Sheamus won the title last month in a four way thanks to the Nexus’ interference. Cena wants Sheamus to help him fight the Nexus, which Sheamus FINALLY did (after running away from them, which may have been smarter). Instead they’ll be fighting for the title in a cage to keep things more even. Sheamus beating Cena to win his first World Title, over Cena, has been mentioned a few times as well.

Raw World Title: Sheamus vs. John Cena

Cena is challenging in a cage. Sheamus wins the battle over a lockup to start and takes Cena into the corner to stomp away. That’s broken up as Cena takes him down to hammer away but charges into an elbow. Sheamus takes him outside the ropes for a face rake against the cage. Back up and Cena tries the shoulders, only to go flying into the cage. Sheamus tries to go up and gets caught in a superplex for his efforts.

The comeback takes too long though and Sheamus hits a DDT for two. The fans are of course behind Cena (they’re good about that) but a running ax handle to the head cuts them off. It works so well that Sheamus does it again and grabs a sleeper. Cena powers up but Sheamus jumps up for a bodyscissors of all things (Striker: “Nice.”) to bring him back down. They get up again and Cena climbs the corner with Sheamus on his back, only for Sheamus to drop down and sweep the leg.

Sheamus’ climb is cut off with a crash onto the ropes and they’re both down again. Now the running shoulders work a bit better for Cena and they go up top again. Sheamus is sent crashing down…but Cena would rather try, and miss, a super Five Knuckle Shuffle than climb out. We switch things up a bit as Cena is tied up in the ropes and Sheamus climbs over to him. Naturally Cena escapes and makes the save, with a super bulldog getting two. Back up and Sheamus grabs the Irish Curse and they’re both down again.

The Brogue Kick knocks Cena silly but Sheamus makes the brilliant move of climbing then stopping to pick Cena back up. The quick AA gives Cena two and here they come. Cue the Nexus with some bolt cutters to open the cage…but the referee manages to take them away. Another referee pulls the key out of his pocket and throws it into the crowd.

As this is going on, the referee inside gets bumped, meaning Cena’s STF makes Sheamus tap to no one. For reasons of “good guys in wrestling are stupid”, Cena lets go and climbs over the top, where Nexus is waiting on him. That’s enough interference for Sheamus to climb out and retain at 23:01.

Rating: C. This was pretty slow and the problem of Nexus is you’re just sitting there waiting around for them to show up. That doesn’t make for the best match and Sheamus was far from the better star that he would become. It’s not a bad match, but that was a long wait for Nexus to FINALLY get there.

Post match Sheamus sprints into the crowd and runs off. Cena is livid and beats up Michael Tarver before promising to take out every member of the Nexus before storming off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. If you’ve been around long enough, you know how Money In The Bank shows work. You have two matches getting most of the focus and ring time, with maybe one other match feeling important. The cage match was big enough while Mysterio vs. Swagger was just…nothing. I liked the ladder matches and Kane cashing in was cool, but the ending felt more like a way to set up something for later. Good enough show, but it needed more than just the ladder matches.

 

 

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 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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Smackdown
Date: April 17, 2026
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Corey Graves, Joe Tessitore

Well, it’s a day before Wrestlemania and I’m not sure how much can be done to help the show. The big story continues to be Randy Orton with Pat McAfee vs. Cody Rhodes and…what are they supposed to do to make that work? This show is almost always light on wrestling and heavy on talking, but we do at least have the Andre Battle Royal. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a variety of wrestlers (and Jelly Roll) talking about various big Wrestlemania moments that meant the most to them over the years. This was good stuff and could have been on the Wrestlemania broadcast.

Randy Orton and Pat McAfee arrive, with Nick Aldis showing up with a contract for McAfee. He has to look at it before he signs it…and then signs it anyway. Orton is off to say something while Aldis can park McAfee’s truck.

Here is Orton for a chat. Orton gets to the point: he doesn’t need McAfee around but he wants him there. McAfee is the one who tells him what he needs to hear, which is how we got here. Orton talks about how he was ready to face Drew McIntyre for the title but then Rhodes became champion.

Then Rhodes told Orton to be himself and WHO DOES RHODES THINK HE IS TO SAY THAT??? Rhodes does nothing but take, like needing Seth Rollins at Wrestlemania XL, which got Orton put through a table. Then he gave Kevin Owens a title shot and Orton got attacked again. Now Orton is going to take something with an RKO.

Orton and McAfee leave, with Nick Aldis left holding the contract. That could be interesting.

MFT’s vs. Wyatt Sicks

Street fight so it’s a big brawl to start (of course) with the Wyatts clearing the ring early on. Rowan teases a dive but gets pulled outside, where Talla gets in a shot of his own. Talla grabs the steps and wrecks Gacy and Lumis before tossing them right at Rowan’s head (that always looks great).

We take a break and come back with Howdy getting stomped down in the corner until Gacy is back in for the save. Lumis nips up for a legdrop but Mateo is back in to start wrecking people. Talla does the same until Rowan is there to knock him outside. Rowan’s big dive connects and let’s get the weapons. The Wyatts clean house again and we take another break.

We come back again with Howdy cleaning house with a chair, with Sikoa being release Rock Bottomed onto said chair. Nikki Cross hits a dive of her own but Talla breaks up the Sister Abigail. A Superfly Splash gives Sikoa two but Gacy and Lumis are back in for the save. Rowan and Talla crash to the floor, with Rowan coming up holding his knee. Tama loads up the Cutthroat but Sikoa quickly Spikes Howdy for the pin at 14:36.

Rating: B. That ending seems designed to sew some tension in the MFT’s, which isn’t exactly a surprise. The MFT’s winning is a bit of a surprise but there is a good chance that this somehow isn’t over yet. That makes for some interesting options, though Tama splitting off is an intriguing concept.

R-Truth and Damian Priest are still confused over who is running around cursing people. It might be New Day, Asuka or Grayson Waller. It turns out they have a title defense tonight, which is news to Priest.

Earlier this week, Miz and Maryse were renewing their wedding vows, with Kit Wilson officiating…when Danhausen popped in. Danhausen says he’s ring bearer and maid of honor and maid of honor before cursing Maryse. This causes her to get hit in the face with some cake.

Video on Royce Keys losing his mother to an overdose and she never saw her kids getting to do what they loved. He wants to make her proud. This is quite the emotional video and that’s a good thing. Now let Keys do some more stuff in the ring.

We look at Drew McIntyre attacking Jacob Fatu last week.

A police car drives into the arena and it’s Fatu driving. Yeah he used to be a criminal but he’s changed his life. No he didn’t mind being put in handcuffs last week because he’s not that person anymore. Tomorrow it’s unsanctioned so there is no one to save McIntyre this time. McIntyre wants to put him back in the jail cell but that’s in the rear view. After Wrestlemania, McIntyre is in his rear view mirror too because tomorrow, it’s a beating.

Alexa Bliss and Charlotte want to win the titles tomorrow but they want to win tonight too. Charlotte wants the title more than friendship, which doesn’t seem to surprise Bliss.

We look at the Wrestlemania set reveal.

Tag Team Titles: R-Truth/Damian Priest vs. Grayson Waller/Kofi Kingston

R-Truth and Priest are defending in quite the random match. I’m going to assume R-Truth mentioned this in his talk earlier but….yeah it’s kind of easy to get lost listening to him. Waller slugs away at Priest to start and gets kicked in the face for his efforts. Priest sends him flying into the corner and hammers away before handing it off to R-Truth. Waller manages to knock R-Truth down but runs into Priest, with Kingston making a quick save.

We take a break and come back with R-Truth still in trouble but the illegal Waller’s cover not counting. Kingston isn’t happy with Waller and gets sent into him, allowing the tag back to Priest. House is quickly cleaned…and R-Truth gets on the apron for the tag from Kingston. R-Truth initiates John Cena’s finishing sequence and the champs hit stereo Shuffles. An elevated Little Jimmy retains the titles at 9:25.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that fits in perfectly on this show as it’s not like there was any doubt about the titles changing, but R-Truth and Priest got to do their thing. There were some stakes to the match and it was fine enough all things considered. If nothing else, it was nice to see the match get some extra time, which it probably wouldn’t have gotten on a regular Smackdown.

Video on Cody Rhodes vs. Pat McAfee from last week, with Randy Orton attacking Jelly Roll.

Here is Jade Cargill, with Michin and B-Fab, for a chat. Well she would be but here is Rhea Ripley to interrupt instead. Ripley could lay Cargill out right now but she doesn’t want Cargill to have any excuses at Wrestlemania. She accuses Cargill of hiding in any way she could find so this is Cargill’s last chance to say something to Ripley alone.

Cargill mocks the idea of being scared of some cosplaying goth girl. Ripley has had her way around here because of the weak locker room. If Ripley keeps talking, Cargill will make it quick at Wrestlemania. Ripley laughs off the idea that she wants to be like Cargill and says her insecurities are the reason she is the woman she is today. They go face to face and Cargill walks away.

Solo Sikoa says they won as a team and now Talla Tonga needs to win the Andre. Now though, it’s time to get the Tag Team Titles back. That’s what Tama Tonga wanted, but he doesn’t seem thrilled.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Jordynne Grace

For a Women’s US Title shot and I had forgotten Grace was on the main roster. Giulia and Kiana James are at ringside and we get a handshake before we’re ready to go. Stratton gets an early rollup for two and they’re right back up for a standoff. Grace sends her into the ropes, with Stratton flipping away with ease. Grace goes strong with an electric chair drop onto the rope and a clothesline for two.

We take a break and come back with Stratton reversing a suplex into a DDT to leave them both down. Grace can’t hit a powerbomb but Stratton can elbow her in the face, setting up a basement dropkick for two. Back up and Grace ties her in the ropes for some rapid fire headbutts, followed by a package powerbomb for two more. Stratton is back with a handspring Stunner into the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pin at 8:05.

Rating: C+. I was a bit surprised by the match as I had thought Stratton already was the #1 contender given how much she’s been around Giulia as of late. If nothing else it’s nice to see someone wanting to be the champion, which still doesn’t have much of a history. This was a perfectly decent match, though DANG Grace has felt like nothing in WWE.

Here is Trick Williams for a chat. He’s not happy with Sami Zayn, who went too far last week by going after Lil Yachty. Zayn hurt his friend last week and that hurt something much bigger: it hurt Williams’ Wrestlemania entrance! Williams wants Zayn out here right now…but he gets a gingerbread man instead, with Williams having quite the laugh. Williams thinks Zayn’s friends might be on Drury Lane but here is Zayn to interrupt.

Zayn says he’s not having a good time with this and hasn’t in a long time. What exactly did he do wrong? He doesn’t know and he doesn’t care, because this is for the ride or die Zayn fans. Those people will be in his corner at Wrestlemania and beyond…but can this Gingerbread Man get away? Zayn says that Williams has talked a lot but hasn’t shown Zayn anything in the ring. All Zayn sees is a little punk rookie about to walk into his first Wrestlemania with one of the best ever.

Williams says he is the plan and that he sees two gingerbread men. The fight is on with Zayn Helluva Kicking the Gingerbread Man but getting taken down by Williams, who holds up the title. They’ve basically done the double turn now and that’s what it should be. Williams is on fire right now so go with him.

Video on the four way Women’s Tag Team Title match, with the Bellas saying Nikki is still hurt. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria and the Irresistible Forces are ready, sans injuries.

Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria

They start fast…and the Irresistible Forces run in for the DQ at 30 seconds. As dumb as that might have been, it’s not like the match needs any more build.

Post match the Forces lay everyone out.

Video on Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi.

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Royce Keys, Axiom, Psycho Clown, Zack Ryder, Ilja Dragunov, Shinsuke Nakamura, Johnny Gargano, Joe Hendry, Rey Fenix, Berto, Angel, La Parka, Otis, Kit Wilson, Original El Grande Americano, Alex Shelley, Aleister Black, Shiloh Hill, Chris Sabin, Nathan Frazer, Talla Tonga, El Grande Americano, Apollo Crews, Akira Tozawa, Cruz del Toro, Joaquin Wilde

It’s a brawl to start with Gargano laying on the mat…where Wilson trips over him to eliminate himself. Eh I chuckled, but then again I like Wilson. Frazer and Sabin brawl to the apron and Gargano gets rid of Frazer, with Sabin following. Talla dumps both Americanos and it’s Hill vs. Dragunov in the middle.

Dragunov kicks Hill out and Los Garza get rid of Parka. Fenix gets rid of Berto and Psycho Clown goes, uh, psycho, only to get clotheslined out by Keys. Gargano slingshot DDTs Axiom out and runs into Shelley on the apron. Fenix kicks Shelley out and Nakamura does the same to Crews. Hendry stops to pose and gets dumped by Black (that’s a natural feud). Talla tosses del Toro and Wilde with ease and it’s time for everyone to go after the giant.

Talla shrugs that off and chokeslams Fenix onto the apron for an elimination. A bunch of strikes drop Talla but Black throws Nakamura out. Black kicks Dragunov out as well and Black Mass is enough to eliminate Tozawa. Otis runs Black over and tosses Angel as Gargano drops to the mat again.

That’s an easy elimination for Otis and Cardona gets the same treatment. We’re down to Otis, Talla, Black and Keys, with Black kicking Otis down in a hurry. Keys throws Black out so Otis runs the other two over. Talla kicks Otis in the face though and we’re down to Talla vs. Keys. The spinebuster plants Talla and Keys wins at 10:01.

Rating: B-. Ok then. I said do something with him and while the track record for winners is hit and miss for these things, that is certainly a notable win. The rest of the match went by quickly enough and it was the kind of match that gets people around Wrestlemania. I was looking forward to this and that’s a nice feeling, as it means we’re at the biggest time of the year and with the right winner.

Wrestlemania rundown.

Video on CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns.

Here is Cody Rhodes for the big final speech. We’re not going to talk about the last three Wrestlemanias and the theory that someone is needling him. Tomorrow is simple: it’s two men having a match for the most important prize in this business. Earlier tonight, Orton was out here talking about Rhodes always taking things. That’s interesting as Orton has never taken responsibility for anything.

As good as wrestling has become…and here is CM Punk to interrupt. Rhodes: “Champ to champ and friend to friend, if I shake your hands and we hug right now, are you going to turn on me and kick me in the balls too?” They take some shots at each others’ formal wear due to the Hall Of Fame ceremony tonight, with Punk saying he hasn’t been in a suit on WWE TV since Teddy Long’s wedding.

Punk says he isn’t Rhodes’ teacher now but on Monday, the two of them will be there and he wants the fans to be there too. Go get it done tomorrow and have some fun. Punk goes to leave but Rhodes says hang on. This Sunday, Punk is up against someone who is so good they’ve had to invent names for him.

Punk wasn’t born into this like Reigns and Rhodes were but Punk came here because WWE wanted him. Now Punk is back and better than ever and making a case to be the new Mr. Wrestlemania. Rhodes thanks him for everything he’s done and Dusty would be proud of Punk (that has Rhodes near tears). Punk thanks him and they go into the crowd to celebrate with the people.

We get what looks like the opening video to Wrestlemania, as narrated by Lin Manuel Miranda. It’s about being there for the moments and how one day, you’ll tell your kids about where you were this weekend when more moments take place and more memories are made. Great stuff here, as WWE knows how to turn up the nostalgia.

Overall Rating: C+. This is one of the most unique shows of the year every single year and you know what you’re getting with it. The wrestling is usually a few midcard matches to go along with the battle royal and a lot of talking about Wrestlemania. That’s exactly what we got here and the show was completely acceptable for what it was supposed to be. It’s little more than a big Wrestlemania preshow and tomorrow the real stuff starts. In other words, this was the Wrestlemania Week Smackdown.

Results
MFT’s b. Wyatt Sicks – Samoan Spike to Howdy
R-Truth/Damian Priest b. Kofi Kingston/Grayson Waller – Elevated Little Jimmy to Waller
Tiffany Stratton b. Jordynne Grace – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Charlotte/Alexa Bliss b. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria via DQ when the Irresistible Forces interfered
Royce Keys won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal last eliminating Talla Tonga

 

 

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 Two
Date: April 20, 2025
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, Wade Barrett
Star Spangled Banner: Ava Max

It’s the second night of the show and in this case it’s going to be a bit of an odd card. The big main event is Cody Rhodes defending the Smackdown World Title against the now evil John Cena, which sounds good on paper but it might wind up being quite the mess. Other than that, we have a triple threat for the Raw Women’s Title which sounds promising. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a recap of last night’s show, followed by a preview for tonight. This is rather generic by Wrestlemania standards.

Here is Stephanie McMahon to get things going. She talks about Wrestlemania IX happening when she was 16 years old and now she’s here with her 16 year old daughter. Anyway welcome to the show.

Raw Women’s Title: Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair

Sky is defending. Belair won the Elimination Chamber but Ripley stole the contract and signed it herself (as contracts in wrestling are weird) but Belair was guest referee. It ended in a double DQ so here’s the triple threat. Belair has a double dutch team and a bunch of young girls, which feels like it has to be a charity thing (cool). Ripley gets a ridiculous reaction and is definitely the crowd favorite.

Sky breaks up their staredown to start because she’s tired of being an afterthought. A nice hurricanrana takes Ripley down but she’s right back up with a dropkick to send Ripley outside. That gives us Belair vs. Ripley, with Belair sending her into the corner to hammer away. Sky is back in with a double Blockbuster and Ripley is sent outside,, allowing Belair to roll some suplexes.

Ripley breaks up Belair’s handspring but Belair catches a diving Sky and swings her into the barricade. Back in and Belair has to save Sky from the Prism Trap so they go to the corner for a kind of backwards Tower of Doom. Sky is back up to drop Ripley but gets caught with Belair’s 450. Ripley makes the save and grabs the Riptide for two on Belair and she’s shocked at the kickout. Sky reverses a Riptide into a DDT and puts Ripley on top. Ripley’s super Riptide is countered into a headscissors but Over The Moonsault hits raised boots.

The KOD hits Sky but Ripley makes the save, leaving everyone down. Belair yells at Ripley and gets knocked outside as a result. Sky tries a super poisonrana to Ripley but gets reversed into an Alabama Slam onto the post. Belair can’t hit the KOD but she can whip Ripley with her hair (YEOWCH). Now the KOD connects but Sky comes in with Over The Moonsault for the pin to retain at 14:24.

Rating: A-. This was outstanding, as they basically went out there and did everything they could think of trying, albeit with the match making sense and going until one of them stole the pin. You had a case where all three could have won and it made for an incredible opener. This is one of the Wrestlemania classics and it was great stuff all around. Check this out if you get the chance.

We recap Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest. McIntyre won the World Title last year at Wrestlemania but Priest took it from him via Money In The Bank. McIntyre has blamed Priest for all of his problems, which Priest doesn’t like. They’ve brawled multiple times, with McIntyre’s eye being injured and Priest getting dropped head first onto the steps. Now it’s time for a street fight.

Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest

Street fight.  McIntyre looks like a half Celtic Warrior/half Terminator, while Priest is played to the ring by the guitarist from Slayer. They waste no time in brawling out to the floor and Priest gets the better of things. Priest throws the steps at McIntyre’s head and loads up the table, which takes too long and allows McIntyre to fight back. Another steps shot drops Priest for a change and McIntyre hits him in the side of the head with a chair.

Two more tables are set up next to each other at ringside and McIntyre seems way too pleased. Priest fights back but gets knocked out to the floor, with McIntyre hitting a big running flip dive. The Claymore is cut off with a thrown chair, which McIntyre somehow blocks and hits a Claymore for two. McIntyre wraps the chair around Priest’s neck but Priest fights back again.

That earns him a spinebuster and a table is set up in the ring. That’s broken up so the steps are brought in, with Priest getting Futureshocked onto the steps for two. Priest gets back up and tries Old School, only to take too much time and get knocked off the top and through the tables at ringside. Priest is mostly done so McIntyre puts his head against a chair in the corner. The big Claymore sends Priest’s head into the chair for the pin at 13:57.

Rating: B. The opener was about all kinds of action while this was all about violence and carnage. They beat the heck out of each other with McIntyre getting the better of things for the most part. It was a match between two people who hated each other and wanted to hurt each other in as many ways as they could. Good stuff here, though I could have gone for more offense from Priest.

We recap Bron Breakker defending the Intercontinental Title. Judgment Day, in this case Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio (who are having issues of their own) are coming for the title, with Penta getting in on things as well. Since it’s Wrestlemania, it’s four way time.

Intercontinental Title: Bron Breakker vs. Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor

Breakker is defending and goes after Mysterio to start but gets sent outside instead (where Carlito is lurking around too). Penta sends Judgment Day to the floor and hits the big running flip dive. Breakker runs Penta over though and then hits a World’s Strongest Slam. The gorilla press powerslam drops Balor and a Super Spear gets two on Mysterio with Balor making the save.

Breakker is not pleased with Balor’s actions so Penta throws Mysterio and Balor into the corner for the double slingshot dropkick. Breakker doesn’t like that and takes out Judgment Day, only to spear the post by mistake. Mysterio is back up and goes after Breakker, who suplexes Mysterio and Balor at the same time. Breakker’s super Frankensteiner gets two on Balor but he’s able to knock Breakker outside. Mysterio dropkicks Balor in the back and tries a 619, earning himself quite the beating from Balor.

Penta Penta Drivers Balor for two with Breakker making the save. Breakker and Penta trade shots to the face but Carlito low bridges Breakker to the floor. Carlito makes another save after a Mexican Destroyer to Mysterio and goes after Penta, only to get speared through the announcers’ table. Back in and we hit the parade of knockdown, including a Super Spear to Penta but Balor dropkicks Breakker into the corner. The Coup de Grace connects…but Mysterio hits the frog splash to steal the pin on Balor for the title at 10:31.

Rating: B-. This was a way to get the title off of the unstoppable Breakker and dang if they didn’t have a great way out of it. Mysterio is the best choice of the three challengers as the fans are into what he’s doing and it’s easy to see why. He’s a great choice of someone in over his head but making it work out so well. Another rather entertaining match, with Breakker looking safe and getting to move up and Mysterio getting his big moment.

Mysterio celebrates like nuts, even leaving the ring and then running back down the ramp to do it again.

Video on Randy Orton’s Wrestlemania history. Orton was set for a big grudge match with Kevin Owens but Owens needs neck surgery, leaving Orton with no opponent. It’s open challenge time and for once, that’s the best option they had.

Randy Orton vs. ???

Orton (in gear reminiscent of what he wore in his debut) calls out anyone and…TNA World Champion (this is non-title of course) Joe Hendry of all people accepts. I didn’t see this coming at the time and it’s a heck of a surprise. The fans go rather nuts for him and we cut to Orton with a look on his face saying “ok, this guy has something”.

Hendry wrestles him down to start and hits a running shoulder on a slightly surprised Orton. The fans get behind Hendry, who tries the Standing Ovation. Orton is NOT pleased and pokes him in the eye, followed by the snap powerslam. Hendry is right back with the fall away slam and does his spinning pose…right into the RKO for the pin at 3:11.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t a great match or anything, but they were stuck in a rough situation here and did the best they could. Hendry was literally a fill in for Owens and had no issue with Orton. It was a cool surprise and the fans were into Hendry so this went about as well as it could have gone. I’ll take this over some thrown together grudge match as it’s certainly more memorable.

Post match Orton helps him up and of course gives him another RKO. Orton does Hendry’s spin into his own pose and gives Hendry a friendly slap on the chest.

We recap Logan Paul vs. AJ Styles. This gets a rather intense build, with the focus being on Styles being a career wrestler who pulled himself up while Paul showed up as a superstar. Therefore, it’s time to fight with a natural issue between them. As usual, sometimes it’s better to keep it simple.

Logan Paul vs. AJ Styles

Paul has a drone filming his entrance, which then flies around the stadium until he catches it back in the ring. That’s certainly different. Paul powers him into the corner to start and grabs a headlock. That’s broken up so Styles gives him a running shoulder into a dropkick. Paul knocks him outside but Styles catches him in the ring skirt (ala Fit Finlay) and chops away.

Styles whips him into the barricade but Paul manages some rams into the post. The drone starts shooting the match as Paul sends him back inside for the frog splash. The Overbomb (Big Show’s Alley Oop) gets two, with Styles having to grab the rope. Styles is back up with some right hands so Paul moonsaults him out of the corner for two. Paul fires off some European uppercuts and poses (makes sense for him), allowing Styles to fight back.

The Styles Clash is broken up though and Paul hits a great looking Lionsault (with some distance on it) for two. Styles catches him in the corner but the Styles Clash is blocked. Instead Paul sends him into the corner and hits a Buckshot Lariat for two. Paul’s big right hand is countered into a torture rack bomb for two.

Paul knocks him back down and hits a Styles Clash, only for Styles to roll into one of his own. They’re both down though so here is one of Paul’s goons with the brass knuckles. Karrion Kross pops up to cut the knuckles off though and Styles sends the good flying. Kross puts the knuckles down but Styles throws them away and decks Kross before going back inside. Back in and Paul hits the big right hand and grabs the Paulverizer for the pin at 17:32.

Rating: B. As usual, Paul gets to show what he can do on the big stage and does it rather well. Styles is someone who can work with any opponent and make them better, which is a big part of why he stayed around at such a high level for so long. This was pretty much exactly what you would expect and it wound up going well. Paul gets a big win and Styles looks fine in defeat. It works fine.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan vs. Lyra Valkyria/???

Valkyria and someone are challenging after Bayley was attacked yesterday. The mystery partner is…Becky Lynch, who has been gone since May. Morgan and Lynch start things off but let’s go with Rodriguez instead. Lynch decks Rodriguez but goes after Morgan instead. Valkyria comes in for the springboard wristdrag and the fans certainly seem to approve

Back in and Morgan shoves Valkyria off the top, right into a boot from Rodriguez for two. Morgan comes back in and stomps away in the corner before rolling some suplexes. That means an Eddie Guerrero dance before she knocks Lynch off the apron and covers Valkyria for two. Rodriguez’s slingshot Jackhammer gets two but she misses an elbow drop. An enziguri hits Morgan, who goes outside and pulls Lynch out to the floor.

Lynch comes in to clean a bit of house but she’s sent outside, leaving Rodriguez to give Valkyria a Tour Of The Islands. Valkyria fights up and makes the real tag off to Lynch and the pace picks way back up. Rodriguez has to save Morgan from a cross armbreaker so Lynch low bridges Rodriguez to the floor. Oblivion hits Lynch with Valkyria making the save. Valkyria takes out Rodriguez and it’s the Manhandle Slam to pin Morgan for the titles at 8:39.

Rating: B-. Lynch coming back was a nice surprise, though I think you’re seeing where this is going (mainly because it was a year ago). They would drop the titles back to Morgan and Rodriguez the next night on Raw and of course Lynch attacked Bayley. It was still a nice return, with Lynch showing up after a rather long absence, as she always makes things better. The action was good too, which isn’t a surprise as Morgan and Rodriguez work well together.

Here is Steve Austin on his four wheeler and yes he rams into the barricade, knocking a woman down in the process (cue Nick Khan to check on the woman and probably give here whatever she wants). Austin announces the attendance of 63,226 but thinks that’s low so he demands a recount. He starts counting the fans (complete with WHAT) and gets to about twenty before announcing that it’s a two night total of 124,693 (which would eventually be revealed to be good for about SIXTY SIX MILLION DOLLARS in ticket sales). Also, note that Austin literally just got a reaction for counting. That’s talent.

We recap John Cena challenging Cody Rhodes for the Smackdown World Title. Cena is on his retirement tour and won the title shot by winning the Elimination Chamber. Then the Rock showed up to offer Cody Rhodes a spot on the team (in exchange for his soul). Rhodes turned him down…but Cena didn’t, as he was now evil for the first time in over twenty years and now has the Rock behind him on the way towards getting his 17th World Title. Rhodes will be fighting for WWE, which actually works as the fans do NOT like Cena, who is claiming that he doesn’t need the fans and their abuse.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena

Rhodes has a bunch of motorcycle/motocross drivers on the stage for his entrance. After the Big Match Intros, Rhodes grabs a headlock and then shoulders Cena to the floor, leaving Cena less than thrilled. Back in and a hammerlock sends Cena to the ropes again so he goes outside for another breather. A headscissors puts Cena down again but he’s back up with a headlock this time.

Rhodes isn’t having that and drives him into the corner, where Cena comes back with a right hand to put Rhodes down. Cena stomps away and catapults Rhodes throat first into the bottom rope. A clothesline drops Rhodes again and we hit the chinlock. Rhodes fights up and gets taken right back down with a side slam for two. Some ax handles rock Rhodes again and Cena pokes the eyes to cut him off again.

A tornado DDT gives Cena two and some flying shoulders have Rhodes in more trouble. Rhodes gets up from the Shuffle though and it’s a powerslam into the Cody Cutter for a quick two. The AA out of nowhere gives Cena two and he can’t help but laugh. Cena takes him up top for a super AA and another near fall. That leaves Cena to go up top but he dives into a powerbomb for two. The Cody Cutter gets two but it’s another AA into the STF. Cena tries to pull him into the middle, only for Rhodes to kick Cena into the referee.

Cross Rhodes connects for no cover so Cena ribs a turnbuckle pad off. Rhodes is sent into the buckle twice in a row and there’s the fourth AA for two more. Cue Travis Scott (with a replica Hardcore Title, because that was a thing for him) who comes to the stage….and is finally off of it almost a minute later.

After nearly two minutes, Scott is on the apron as the match has just entirely stopped for this entrance. Rhodes is distracted by Scott but grabs Cross Rhodes, only for Scott to pull the referee. Scott FINALLY gets inside for the staredown with Rhodes, who gives him Cross Rhodes. Cena’s belt shot is blocked so Rhodes teases one of his own, but Cena begs off. Since Rhodes hesitates, Cena kicks him low and hits Rhodes with the belt for the pin and the title at 25:04.

Rating: D+. So this is a weird one, as they had a slow paced match (which was fine) for the most part, which then picked up near the end and felt more like a big main event fight. The problem though is the Scott stuff, which was a mixture of bad and unwanted. I’m still not sure why Cena and Scott were supposed to be friends but it was tied to the Rock, who wasn’t there. At the same time you have Rhodes looking like a moron while Cena got to look that much smarter. This wasn’t a great match, though it was fine enough until everything fell apart at the end.

Post match Cena gets his 17th title and Scott comes back in for the big celebration. Rhodes staggers away to end the show. No Rock, which would be the case for…the rest of Cena’s in-ring career, because the whole thing got dropped, leaving the story with nowhere to go. You know, because that’s a good thing for the biggest story in wrestling.

Overall Rating: B-. There were good matches during the show, with the opener being a classic, but the main event really didn’t work out so well (ok that’s an understatement). If you can get away from the main event, the show is that much better, but dang it drags things down. It’s far from a great show, but the opener and things like Hendry’s surprise appearance and Mysterio winning the title are enough to carry it.

Overall Overall Rating: B. As has been the case with every year since Wrestlemania went to two nights, there is a heck of a one night show in there but there is so much dragging it back down. On the positive sides though, you have the great set and production, some solid matches and Punk finally getting a Wrestlemania main event. I did like the show, but stretching the whole thing to about seven hours, even over two days, is still a long sit. The good here is very good, though you might want to stop it when the Rhodes and Cena recap begins.

 

 

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

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.

 

 

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Wrestlemania XXXVII Night Two
Date: April 11, 2021
Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Attendance: 25,675
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton
America the Beautiful: Ashland Craft

It’s the second night in front of fans in a rather long time and the first night did well enough. The big draw this time is Roman Reigns defending the Smackdown World Title against Edge and Daniel Bryan in a triple threat match. Other than that, you also Rhea Ripley challenging Asuka for the Raw Women’s Title. Let’s get to it.

Ashland Craft (THE NEW VOICE OF COUNTRY MUSIC) sings America The Beautiful.

The opening video/recap package from last night talks about how long it has taken for WWE to get back here. I believe we switch into the same video from Night One, featuring the battling voiceovers. At least the preview for tonight has different highlights for a change.

Here are the cohosts, Titus O’Neil and Hulk Hogan, now dressed as pirates to keep up the theme. Pirate jokes abound as they run down the card and since they don’t get over very well, O’Neil talks about Randy Orton vs. the Fiend. Double AARRGHH’s (Hogan clearly has no idea what O’Neil is doing before joining in) wrap this up.

We recap Randy Orton vs. the Fiend. They’ve been feuding with each other since last year, where Orton burned him alive (it’s wrestling, go with it). This resulted in Orton dealing with Fiend’s friend Alexa Bliss (which didn’t exactly work but kept going for a long time), who tried to kill him while bringing back the charred Fiend at Fastlane. Now it’s time for their big showdown.

Randy Orton vs. The Fiend

The burned Fiend walks through the entrance and transforms into his regular gear. Sure why not. Then Bliss pops up on the stage…and there is now a big jack in the box at ringside, which Orton doesn’t seem to notice until Bliss gets in front of it (ignore that Orton probably would have had trouble seeing her with the giant box in his field of vision). She turns the crank and Fiend pops out of the top (that’s an awesome boss entrance in a video game) and dives onto Orton with a clothesline.

A release Rock Bottom plants Orton and we get an extreme closeup of the Fiend’s face. Orton gets smart by rolling outside, only to get caught in the Mandible Claw. They get back inside with Orton breaking out, setting up the hanging DDT. Orton sends him head first into, as Cole puts it, “that box like structure”. Ignoring that leaving so many dumb questions (the least of which being WELL WHAT ELSE WAS IT SUPPOSED TO BE???), it doesn’t do much damage to Fiend, who is back with a hard clothesline.

Orton sends him outside again, with Fiend popping right back up but getting caught with another hanging DDT. Fiend is right back with the Mandible Claw and loads up Sister Abigail but fire comes up from the posts. Bliss pops up from the box (now in all black and with her hair pulled back) with black goo on her face. Fiend lets go of Orton and reaches for her, setting up the RKO for the pin at 5:51.

Rating: D+. It was a slow paced match that didn’t get a ton of time and, much like their Wrestlemania match four years ago, it just ends with Orton hitting the RKO for the quick win. The problem here continues to be the same thing that always plagued the Fiend: it doesn’t make a ton of sense and we wouldn’t get much of anything in the way of an explanation for what any of it meant. It wasn’t a good wrestling character and it made for a terrible opener.

Post match Bliss looks at Fiend and the lights go out so he can disappear. None of that would matter as this would be Wyatt’s last appearance on WWE TV for a year and a half, as he was released in July and came back late the following year. Pretty terrible opener.

Hulk Hogan and Titus O’Neil (still pirates) meet Eric Bischoff in the back but Bayley interrupts to complain that they ignored her last night. She offers Bischoff a spot on her show but he doesn’t do much with TV these days. Bischoff praises Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks last night and would love to have Belair on his podcast. They’re off to find a boat, though Bayley does get O’Neil’s hat.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Shayna Baszler/Nia Jax vs. Tamina/Natalya

Tamina/Natalya are challenging after winning Tag Team Turmoil last night. Baszler takes Natalya down to start and smiles a bit. Back up and the threat of a Sharpshooter sends Baszler over to the ropes. Jax (with glitter on her face) comes in to shove Natalya without much ease so let’s go with Tamina instead. They trade headbutts until Tamina can’t pick her up for a slam.

Instead it’s back to Natalya, with Jax hitting both of them in the face. A double backdrop puts Jax down but Baszler comes in off a blind tag, only to get front suplexed onto both of them. Baszler gets German suplexed down and a catapult sends her into Tamina’s superkick for two. That’s enough for Baszler, who knees Natalya in the face as Jax slams Tamina on the floor. Baszler gets to start in on Natalya’s leg with some rather nasty twisting.

Jax stays on the leg and it’s back to Baszler to hit a running knee in the face. A missed charge sends Jax into the post though and Natalya’s discus lariat gets two. That’s shrugged off and Jax hits a heck of a powerbomb, with Tamina having to make a save. Tamina gets the tag and makes the comeback but gets caught by Jax on top. That’s broken up and Tamina gets down, only for Jax to hit a double high crossbody for two in quite the visual.

Jax yells at Tamina about being better, which brings Tamina back up for the slam (no rotation and more like a drop than a slam). Tamina slowly goes up top for the Superfly Splash but misses, mainly because she spent about a minute setting up a splash off a simple slam. Natalya basement dropkicks Jax and tries the Sharpshooter but Baszler got a blind tag. The Sharpshooter goes on anyway but Baszler is back in for the Kirifuda Clutch to finish Natalya at 14:18.

Rating: C-. WAY too long here as you had the champs against the most boring team imaginable for the better part of fifteen minutes. That’s after Natalya and Tamina were in a match the previous night. This was a good example of how useless the titles were at this point and that would be the case for a long time. The match isn’t even that bad, but trying to get fans to care about Natalya and Tamina after this much time was not going to happen.

We recap Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens. Zayn has claimed a big conspiracy against him and made a documentary film about the whole thing, which wound up being the ramblings of a madman. He got Logan Paul (not yet a wrestler) to watch it but Paul wasn’t overly convinced. Owens basically said Zayn was nuts so Zayn kicked him in the face and said OPEN YOUR EYES. Now they’re going to fight because it is their nature, with Paul around as well.

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

Logan Paul is here too and JBL is on commentary. Yes Owens has a KO Mania (V) shirt and yes it’s still awesome. Owens starts fast and hits a quick powerbomb, with Zayn rolling straight out to the floor. Back in and a running clothesline looks to set up the frog splash but Zayn gets out of the way before it can launch. They go to the apron with Owens fighting out of a half and half suplex, only to get brainbustered onto the apron. Back in and a Michinoku Driver gives Zayn two but he gets knocked off the top.

A brainbuster onto the knee looks to set up the package piledriver but Zayn exploders Owens into the corner. The Helluva Kick and Stunner are both countered so Zayn gets the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Another exploder and a half and half have Owens rocked, followed by another brainbuster for another near fall. For some reason Zayn tries a superkick, which is of course reversed into a swinging superplex. Zayn hits a quick Helluva Kick but tries another and gets superkicked. The Stunner finishes Zayn at 9:16.

Rating: B. They didn’t have the time to reach some epic level but these two could have a bad match in their sleep. There is something very special about seeing Owens and Zayn getting a chance to do this at Wrestlemania though. They’ve gotten this far and it’s amazing to see, with a good match at the same time.

Post match Paul gets in to check on Zayn and then offers Owens a handshake. That’s too far for Paul, who tells Zayn to stop it. Paul shoves the screaming Zayn down before raising Owens’ hand. That is NOT ok with Owens, who gives Paul a Stunner.

Riddle meets the Great Khali and suggests he open a store for giant size people. Rob Van Dam comes up and translates: apparently he’ll need to corner the market. This turns into a plug for Van Dam’s rolling papers. You have Van Dam and Riddle meeting and this is the best you have?

US Title: Riddle vs. Sheamus

Riddle is defending and this started over a scooter, as all great feuds too. This time, Riddle’s sandal flip gives us birds with pirate hats. Riddle knocks him into the corner to start but Sheamus is back with a hard shot of his own. The sleeper doesn’t do much for Riddle as Sheamus drives him into the corner and the Irish Curse gets two. Riddle is knocked to the apron for the forearms to the chest so Sheamus goes up top.

That’s cut off for a change, with Riddle hitting a pretty awesome overhead belly to belly top rope superplex for the big crash. Riddle strikes away and hits the Broton, setting up a Jackhammer (because the Goldberg feud was still a thing) for two. Back up and Sheamus escapes the Bro Derek and sends him to the apron, only to knee Riddle in the face for daring to try a flip of some kind. An Alabama Slam gives Sheamus two but Riddle suplexes him onto the apron, setting up the running flipping dive to the floor.

Back in and the Floating Bro sets up some kind of an armbar, with Sheamus reversing into a powerbomb. Riddle’s sleeper is broken up and Sheamus hammers away before taking him up top. What looks to be a super White Noise…doesn’t work as they fall down a bit (fair) so Sheamus hits a regular version instead. The top rope knee gives Sheamus two but the Brogue Kick misses. Riddle tries a moonsault but gets Brogue Kicked out of the air for the pin and the title at 10:50.

Rating: B. This was about two bruisers beating the fire out of each other with one hard hitting shot after another. As luck would have it, that’s where Sheamus shines and he more than did it again here. Riddle is a goof, but when he’s put in the right spot he could have a heck of a match. Good stuff here, though again it didn’t feel exactly like it belonged on a Wrestlemania.

We recap Big E. defending the Intercontinental Title against Apollo Crews. Big E. won the title back in December but then Crews suddenly realized he was awesome and dropped the steps on Big E. to injure him. Crews also started talking about his heritage of Nigerian royalty and had quite the accent. Now it’s time for a….Nigerian Drum Fight, because 2021 was a weird time in wrestling. It’s also in Big E.’s hometown, which should make for a nice reaction.

Intercontinental Title: Big E. vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is challenging and Wale raps Big E. to the ring. There are a bunch of drums and a big gong at ringside so of course they both grab kendo sticks. Big E. gets the better of things and they go outside, where Crews knocks a gong out of his hand. Back in and Big E. knocks him to the apron for the crazy spear through the ropes. The steps are loaded up at ringside but Crews grabs a Death Valley Driver onto the apron for two instead.

Crews can’t drop the steps onto Big E. and instead charges into a release Rock Bottom from the apron onto said steps for a nasty crash. The table is set up inside but Crews is back up with some kendo stick shots. A frog splash only hits table though and Big En. Hits the Big Ending…but a rather large man in a military uniform (Commander Azeez) comes in for a shot to the neck. Big E. gets chokeslammed to give Crews the pin and the title at 6:51.

Rating: D. Oh sweet goodness where do I begin? This was a pretty basic weapons match, but the whole match was named after one weapon and they were barely used whatsoever. Instead it was about the monster coming in at the end and making sure that Big E. lost in his hometown. Crews winning is a good thing, but that’s aside from the rather horrible gimmick, which is about as dumb as you can get. The wrestling itself was far from bad, but everything else dragged it down.

Here’s a long recap of Night One.

Wrestlemania XXXVIII is coming to Dallas.

We look at the Hall Of Fame Class Of 2021.

Here’s the class:

Rob Van Dam (perfectly fine)
Molly Holly (can’t get much nicer than her)
Great Khali (…..I guess?)
Ozzy Osbourne (see Khali)
Eric Bischoff (fair enough, though not something you would have believed possible at some point)
Rich Hering (Warrior Award for fifty years in the company)
Kane (I guess the headliner? Either way, rather acceptable)

Kane does the fire on the pirate ship, which looks awesome.

We recap Asuka defending the Raw Women’s Title against Rhea Ripley. Asuka has been champion for a good while but Ripley (with short blonde hair at this point, which still works but not quite what she would become) made her main roster debut (after finishing runner up in the Royal Rumble as part of NXT) and challenged her for Wrestlemania. Game on.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka

Ripley is challenging and gets played to the ring. I mean really played to the ring, as the song goes on LONG after Ripley is out there. We get the Big Match Intros and Asuka fires off a dropkick, which only staggers Ripley. A rollup gets two on Ripley but she avoids the running hip attack in the corner. Asuka sends her face first into the buckle though and Ripley goes outside, with Ripley seemingly getting that this is a big difference.

A pop up knee to the face sends Ripley back inside, where another hip attack misses. This time Ripley kicks her down and hits a belly to back faceplant for two. Ripley grabs a bodyscissors and screams at her a lot (with Ripley’s eyes bugging out for a good visual) before slapping Asuka in the back of the head. With the hold broken up, Ripley hits a dropkick and starts mockingly kicking her in the face. Asuka pulls one of the kicks into a kneebar, only to have Ripley muscle her up into a German suplex for two (with what looked like a camera edit on a weird cover).

Some shoulders to the back in the corner have Asuka in more trouble but she manages to knock her off the top. A missile dropkick hits Ripley and Asuka finally has an opening. There’s a German suplex to Ripley for a change and now the hip attack connects for Asuka. A spinning kick to the head and the running hip attack put Ripley down for two and she looked stunned as she sits back up. Asuka goes up again but gets dropkicked right back down, allowing Ripley to electric chair her onto the apron.

That’s shrugged off (somehow) and Asuka DDTs her from the apron to the floor. While that should be a knockout, it’s only good for a nine here. Back in and another kick is countered and Ripley stomps away again. Asuka counters the Prism Trap into a failed cross armbreaker attempt, as Ripley sends her crashing into the corner instead. An apron superplex drops Asuka again but she pulls Ripley into an armbar. That’s broken up so Asuka fires off some hard kicks, only to duck one of them and hit the Riptide out of nowhere for the pin and the title at 13:27.

Rating: B+. I liked this WAY more this time, as it was not only a heck of a fight but they also made Ripley look like a star out of nowhere. Asuka is someone who had been turned into a huge star but Ripley took everything she had and beat her clean. The Women’s Title matches at this Wrestlemania were about making Ripley and Belair feel like huge stars and they made it happen very well. Heck of a match here, with the storytelling and star making performance being more than enough to make it better.

We look back at Randy Orton vs. the Fiend to keep this show going even longer.

Titus O’Neil and Hulk Hogan (in regular clothes) are back to thank everyone who is watching the show…but here is Bayley to interrupt. She’s not happy with them not thanking her and insists on her own pyro. After her required yelling at Michael Cole, here are the Bellas to yell at and then beat up Bayley. Hogan and O’Neil even dance with the Bellas. Well O’Neil does, while Hogan tries in a less than successful effort.

Wrestlemania Backlash is in five weeks. Thank goodness that didn’t last long.

We recap the main event. Edge returned and won the Royal Rumble to get the shot. He talked about how he never lost the title back in 2011 (true) and has gone through a lot to get back here. Therefore he chose Roman Reigns but Daniel Bryan had a title shot at Fastlane, saying he wanted it to be like Wrestlemania XXX all over again. Bryan made Reigns tap but the referee didn’t see it, allowing Edge to cost Bryan the shot so he got his match. As a result, it’s a triple threat match for the title.

Reigns wasn’t happy and promised to crush both of them because he beat Bryan up and took the title from Edge (kind of). This was only about eight months into Reigns’ reign so he’s still fine tuning some of his Head Of The Table stuff. He’s still a dominant champion, but he’s in a lot of danger here. It’s a well done story, even if it feels A LOT like Chris Benoit/HHH/Shawn Michaels in 2004.

Smackdown World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Edge

Reigns, with Paul Heyman and Jey Uso, is defending (and we get a rather detailed camera shot of them, which makes them look like they’re in a video game). After the Big Match Intros, Reigns jumps them to start fast and they go outside. Uso gets in a superkick to both challengers but Edge whips Reigns into the barricade and apron over and over for quite the positive reaction.

An Edgecution drops Uso onto the steps, which should get rid of him for a good while. Indeed as here are some referees to get rid of Uso, leaving Edge and Bryan to get inside for a staredown. Bryan sends him into the corner for hard kicks but the Edge-O-Matic gives Edge two. Reigns is back up but gets knocked off the apron, allowing Bryan to hit a missile dropkick on Edge. Bryan is sent outside though and Reigns snaps off a belly to belly to send him flying.

Back in and Edge reveres a Superman Punch into an Edgecution. They both try spears and collide for a double down, so here is Bryan with a Swan Dive each. Bryan covers Reigns for two and then fires off the kicks to both of them. The running knee hits Edge and the big swinging kick to the head puts Reigns down for two more. Some hard stomps set up the YES Lock on Reigns until Edge makes the save.

The same hold has Edge in trouble until Reigns makes a save of his own. Reigns unloads on Bryan with the big forearms and takes him outside. The steps are loaded up and there’s a powerbomb to put Bryan through the announcers’ table (no wonder he went to AEW). Reigns poses on the steps but gets speared down by Edge (I wonder why he went to AEW). With Bryan mostly dead and Reigns back inside, Edge grabs a pair of chairs but Reigns steps on one of them on the way back in.

The bar is broken off the bottom of the chair and Edge grabs a crossface, complete with the bar in Reigns’ mouth (Reigns’ eyes look like he found a mouse in his mouth in a 90s comedy). The tap is about to happen but Bryan is back in with a YES Lock to Reigns’ other arm. Reigns seems to tap but Bryan and Edge headbutt each other until both holds are broken.

Bryan asks Edge if he has a bad neck and then stomps him down. The running knee is loaded up but Edge hits a spear, followed by another to Reigns…so Bryan pulls the referee. The livid Edge grabs more chairs, one of which he uses on Bryan’s back. Bryan is tossed back in, where Edge unloads on both of them with the chair. Bryan gets Conahritoed but here is Uso to save Reigns from the same thing. Edge chairs Uso down but Reigns is up with a spear. Reigns Conchairtos Edge and stacks them up for the double pin to retain at 22:42.

Rating: B+. This wound up being a lot better than I was expecting, as it felt like the title was in danger more than once. Edge winning was absolutely in the cards and as a result, Bryan felt like he could steal the thing as well. They had a heck of a violent match here and it felt like it belonged on Wrestlemania, which didn’t feel like it would be the case coming in. This overdelivered and I got way into it watching it back.

Reigns poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. They were just a few improvements away from a great show here, as the two main events more than delivered and it felt like a Wrestlemania by the end. At the same time, there were some VERY weak parts (opener, Women’s Tag Team Titles, Drum Fight) that dragged it back down. There’s more bad than good, though the bad parts keep it from being a great show and leave it more in the decent range.

Overall Overall Rating: B-. I don’t think there’s any secret to the fact that this isn’t the most well remembered Wrestlemania. The world was still kind of all over the place and even WWE wouldn’t have fans back on the regular until the summer. That being said, it’s a completely watchable show, though skipping pretty much all of the Women’s Tag Team Title stuff would be advised. It’s a good example of a show that is outstanding if you cut out a bunch of stuff and make it one night, but as it is, it’s still ok enough.

The important thing, especially coming off of last year, was to have it feel like Wrestlemania again and they made that happen. You had the fans in the stadium and a big card, which did have the atmosphere that you want with a Wrestlemania. There have been better shows, but this had a specific goal to accomplish and they made that work, which is a great accomplishment.

 

Ratings Comparison

Randy Orton vs. The Fiend

Original: D
2022 Redo: D
2025 Redo: D+

Shayna Baszler/Nia Jax vs. Tamina/Natalya

Original: D
2022 Redo: F
2025 Redo: C-

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

Original: B-
2022 Redo: B-
2026 Redo: B

Riddle vs. Sheamus

Original: B-
2022 Redo: C+
2026 Redo: B

Apollo Crews vs. Big E.

Original: C+
2022 Redo: D+
2026 Redo: D

Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley

Original: B-
2022 Redo: C+
2026 Redo: B+

Edge vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns

Original: A-
2022 Redo: A-
2026 Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B-
2022 Redo: C-
2026 Redo: B-

Overall Overall Rating

Original: B
2022 Redo: C+
2026 Redo: B-

GEEZ was I just in a really bad mood when I watched this last time or something? I know I’m a lot higher on Ripley than I was before but the Women’s Tag Team Title match wasn’t that bad.

 

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 XXXVI Night Two
Date: April 5, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the second half of one of the weirdest shows ever and I’m not sure what that is going to mean. Even a year later, this show is mostly forgotten outside of the main event and I’m curious to see how the rest of it holds up. I was actually surprised by some of what’s on the card as it has completely escaped me over the last year. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Natalya vs. Liv Morgan

You know, you don’t have to have a Kickoff Show match if this is as good as you can get. Natalya headlocks her down to start but lets it go for an early standoff. A rollup gives Morgan two and she gets some sarcastic applause for a bonus. Morgan ducks a clothesline with the Matrix and rolls her up for two more, allowing her to get in her own sarcastic applause.

Natalya is right back with her belly to back drop into the step over basement dropkick for two more. The surfboard goes on and Morgan screams a lot but she avoids a charge in the corner to grab another rollup. A Codebreaker gives Morgan two and Natalya’s sitout wheelbarrow faceplant gets the same. The Sharpshooter attempt is countered into a step up enziguri and Morgan grabs another rollup for the pin at 6:22.

Rating: C-. This was as interesting as it was going to get with Morgan trying one rollup after another to little avail until the ending. Morgan always seems like someone they want to push to the moon but can’t figure out how to get there. This win isn’t going to be some game changer, but at least they gave her something, even if this was nearly depressing as a way to start the night.

Stephanie McMahon gives us a quick welcome.

We get the same still pretty great pirate parody opening video.

Rob Gronkowski talks about knowing a thing or two about dropping the hammer on a championship Sunday.

NXT Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley

Ripley is defending and it’s a shame that she didn’t get the big moment after the pretty cool video of her walking into the empty Raymond James Stadium. We get the recap video after Charlotte’s entrance, as Charlotte won the Royal Rumble and Ripley threw her hat in the ring, meaning it was time for Charlotte to go after the NXT Women’s Title again. Ripley looks a bit weird in blue tights but Wrestlemania has had some strange choices over the year.

Charlotte takes her down to start and we hit the trash talk in a hurry. Ripley seems to be favoring her knee as they lock up and Charlotte drives her into the corner. The chops, with more trash talk, have Ripley in more trouble but she comes out with the Riptide for a quick two. That’s enough to send Charlotte outside for a breather so Ripley follows her out with an elbow to the face.

A flip dive off the steps takes Charlotte down again and Ripley sends her face first into the mat back inside. Ripley gets two more off a snap suplex and it’s time to kick Charlotte in the back. The bodyscissors stays on the ribs but Charlotte gets in a shot to the leg for a breather. Another kick to the knee has Ripley in trouble and Charlotte twists it around to make things even worse.

The leg is wrapped around the post but Ripley comes back with a belly to back faceplant. Ripley is back up with some good knees to the face, setting up a dropkick to a kneeling Charlotte. A lot of shouting at the knee drives Ripley on but Charlotte sends her to the apron for another kick to the knee. Ripley catches her on top for an electric chair faceplant but Charlotte hits her in the face. The knee to the knee in the corner misses though and Ripley scores with a missile dropkick, which bangs up the knee even more.

Charlotte is back up with a chop block but Ripley grabs the legs for the Prism Trap (such a cool name). That’s reversed into a Boston crab but Ripley powers out into a pinfall reversal sequence. Back up and Ripley scores with a big boot for two and frustration is setting in. Ripley takes her up top but gets shoved down, only to get the boots up to block the moonsault. Charlotte hits a spear for two so it’s time for the Figure Eight for the tap and the title at 20:27.

Rating: B+. This felt like a battle and a struggle, which is exactly how it should have felt. They made it feel important, but I really can’t get behind the idea of Charlotte winning here. It’s like she came in and showed NXT how little they mean compared to the main roster. Charlotte has won everything there is to win in WWE, so why did she need to win this too? Ripley needed this win a lot more than Charlotte, but that has never stopped WWE before.

Long video on night one.

Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley

Lana is here with Lashley and this might be the greatest example of “what a difference a year makes” in recent memory. Black has horns on his shoulders because of course he does. Lashley powers him around to start and then does it again to make his point clear. A leg dive doesn’t work for Black as Lashley supelxes him down and hammers away.

Lashley misses a charge and falls out to the floor but Black misses the middle rope moonsault, earning himself a suplex. There’s a running shoulder to the ribs in the corner, setting up a neckbreaker to drop Black again. Black knees his way out of the delayed vertical suplex but Lashley snaps off a powerslam for two more.

Now the suplex can connect for two but Black is back with kicks to the legs. Another kick puts Lashley on the floor and now the middle rope moonsault connects. Back in and Lashley hits a crossbody of all things for two but Lana gets on the steps for no logical reason. The Dominator is loaded up but Lana demands a spear….which charges into Black Mass to give Black the pin at 7:16.

Rating: C. Not a bad back and forth match here but the ending didn’t do it many favors. Lana and Lashley was an idea that went on too long and pretty much never worked but WWE didn’t seem to get the idea for a good while. Then there’s Black and egads what happened with him? He had a nice push in the spring and summer but then it just all fell apart later on, because WWE. I don’t get it either, because he just pinned a big star clean here and then WWE just gave up.

Bayley and Sasha Banks aren’t worried about the five way tonight. They are united to keep Bayley’s Smackdown Women’s Title because they are best friends. Bayley leaves but when asked if she wants to win the title, Banks says we’ll see.

We look at Mojo Rawley winning the 24/7 Title last night.

Rob Gronkowski wants the 24/7 Title.

We recap Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler. Otis and Mandy Rose seem to have a thing for each other but Ziggler doesn’t get it. Then he and Sonya Deville got together to split them up before they could get together, with Mandy getting together with Ziggler instead. The Smackdown hacker intervened and shows the plot, meaning Mandy and Otis can be on the same page once Otis deals with Ziggler. Yeah this was kind of nuts but it was funny and oddly charming.

Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler

Sonya Deville is here with Ziggler, who is chased outside before the bell. Otis splashes him in the corner to start but Ziggler is right back with a superkick to the floor. A posting gives Ziggler two back inside and we hit the choke. There’s a dropkick for two more and the choking moves to the ropes this time. The jumping elbow sets up something like a rear naked choke, which Otis breaks up in a hurry. Otis starts the jiggling and hammers away, including the running clotheslines.

A slam lets Otis step on Ziggler’s back and a whip into the corner puts Ziggler down again. Otis sends him outside for a whip into the barricade, followed by a posting for a bonus. Back in and a pop up World’s Strongest Slam has Ziggler in trouble and Sonya demanding that he get up. A Sonya distraction lets Ziggler get in a low blow and they’re both down for a bit. Cue Mandy Rose (you knew this was coming) to slap Sonya and hit Ziggler low, setting up the Caterpillar to give Otis the pin at 8:09.

Rating: C-. The match was nothing beyond a Smackdown level match but I was stunned by the result. I really would never have bet that Otis would have beaten Ziggler so well done on the surprise ending and going the right way. There was no logical reason for Ziggler to win here, which was exactly why I would have expected it. Otis and Mandy were never going to be a long term angle, but for a one off moment, this was very well done.

Post match Otis picks Mandy up and they have their first kiss, which would have been a great moment with a crowd.

We recap Edge vs. Randy Orton. Edge returned in the Royal Rumble for the huge surprise, where he eliminated Orton. This made Orton ask if Edge wanted to reunited Rated RKO one more time, only to surprise Edge with a big beatdown. With Edge gone, Orton gave his wife Beth Phoenix an RKO, which was treated like the worst thing ever, because Beth went from a Hall of Famer to a damsel in distress. Orton explained that he was doing this to save Edge from turning into what Orton had become, even if it meant ending his career all over again. Makes wrestling sense and it set up a Last Man Standing match, so who am I to complain?

Edge vs. Randy Orton

Last Man Standing and dang it must be awful for Edge to put in all that work and his Wrestlemania entrance is in front of an empty building. Orton runs in from behind (thanks to the classic cameraman disguise) with the RKO and the referee has to ask Edge if he wants to do this. That’s an of course so Orton hits another RKO for an early nine. They head outside with Orton hitting him in the face with the camera for seven so let’s go backstage.

It’s off to the gym first with Orton using a strap from a gym machine (in a moment whose accidental significance went completely over my head live) to choke him but Edge gets back up and hits him with a chain. Edge hammers him onto a table and then into a chair to pound away even more. We go aerial as Edge grabs a machine and uses it to pull himself up and land on Orton in the chair. Edge shouts about nine years but gets whipped into a wall to put him down.

Orton can’t quite crush him with a sled so Edge sends him into some equipment. They fight into a rather narrow hallway where Orton goes face first into a garage door. That’s only good for six though as Edge wants to beat him up some more. It’s back into the arena now with Orton throwing Edge into the barricade. Edge uses said barricade to pull himself up at nine so it’s time to go backstage again, this time to the office area. They take turns ramming each other into a board room table until Edge sends him face first into a wall.

Orton is thrown onto the table and Edge pulls himself up on the….whatever the chain link stuff is above the table to drop an elbow. We lose a cameraman so another has to run in to catch them in a storage room. Orton staggers away with his left arm pretty banged up, but he is able to knock Edge onto an anvil case. They go through more stuff with Edge finding some chairs, which Orton throws away in a hurry. A whip into a bunch of stuff gives Orton nine and they wind up in what loos like an interview area.

Edge gets in a few more shots of his own, including a kick to the ribs, and they’re both down for a breather. With Orton knocked onto a table, Edge climbs a ladder onto a scaffold and drops a huge elbow through Orton through said table for a double eight. It’s time to stagger around some more, this time with Orton’s shoulder bleeding. Orton sends him into more equipment for another eight and then takes him onto the back of a covered pick up truck.

The hanging DDT onto said cover gives us another double eight and they climb onto the top of a big production truck. Edge cuts off a Punt with the spear for nine but another spear charges into an RKO. With Edge getting up again, Orton drops down and grabs some chairs to take back to the top of the truck. Orton sounds like he mentions Edge’s daughters but the Conchairto is countered into a standing choke. That’s enough to knock Orton out but Edge says stop counting. The Conchairto crushes him for good and Edge wins at 36:40.

Rating: B-. I liked this one way more the first time around as this really did feel long here. They had some good violence and beat each other up but you easily could have cut out ten plus minutes and done the same thing. You also get into the same problem that so many Last Man Standing matches have, in that you spend so much time waiting on the counts that the match loses a lot of steam. I still like it, but cut this stuff down.

Back in the arena, Mojo Rawley runs from the menagerie of numskulls but Rob Gronkowski dives off a balcony onto the pile to win the title. Apparently this took HOURS to film as Gronkowski wouldn’t do it, even after Vince McMahon himself demonstrated the dive (the video released of Vince doing it is kind of awesome).

Raw Tag Team Titles: Austin Theory/Angel Garza vs. Street Profits

The Profits are defending and Theory is a last minute replacement for an injured Andrade, just to hammer home how messy this show is. Zelina Vega is here with the challengers too. Dawkins headlocks Theory to start and then runs him over with a shoulder. The champs start taking turns on the shoulder but Theory sends Dawkins outside. That means Garza can hit a superkick, allowing him to come inside and TAKE OFF HIS PANTS.

Some kicks to Dawkins’ ribs set up a seated abdominal stretch but Dawkins flips out without much trouble. Ford comes in to clean house and there’s the big flip dive onto Theory (and Dawkins by mistake). Back in and Garza kicks Ford down, setting up a Lionsault for two. The Wing Clipper is countered with an enziguri though and the hot tag brings in Dawkins. Theory catches him with a quick TKO but Ford comes in with the frog splash to give Dawkins the retaining pin at 6:23.

Rating: D+. There was a very firm limit to what they could do here with no real feud between one of the teams hadn’t even been together for a week and they didn’t even have seven minutes to do their thing. It felt like a Raw match and in this case, that is about as good as you could have expected. The Profits were brand new champions here and as usual, there weren’t exactly a ton of teams for them to challenge them. Take away one of the only ones around and how good could this have been?

Post match the beatdown is on but Bianca Belair runs in for her debut and takes out Vega.

Titus O’Neil has taken over hosting duties, meaning he says he’s hosting.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi

Bayley is defending under elimination rules and Naomi’s entrance is still cool even in an empty arena. Everyone goes after Tamina to start because it is Wrestlemania season and therefore she matters again. With Tamina knocked to the floor, the other four pair off until Bayley and Banks double team Evans for two. The mini tag match breaks out with Lacey and Naomi hitting stereo dropkicks for stereo near falls.

Tamina (sorry, the POWERFUL Tamina) gets back in to wreck everyone and gets a few near falls. Bayley and Lacey are kicked to the floor, leaving us with a Team BAD reunion, assuming more than about 4% of the audience actually remembers that weird trios period at the start of the Women’s Revolution. Tamina gets double teamed down and it’s a parade of finishers to get rid of her at 6:26 (because Tamina is Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania).

With the unstoppable monster stopped, Bayley starts beating on everyone else with the trash talk thrown in for a bonus. Naomi comes back in to beat up Bayley and Banks at the same time, including a Rear View to Banks and a middle rope kick to both. That’s about it for the Offense though as the Bank Statement makes Naomi tap at 10:15. Bayley: “DANCE TO THE BACK!”

Bayley and Banks double team Lacey, including something like a double powerbomb for two. A running knee (Bayley: “THIS IS FOR SUMMER”!, meaning Lacey’s daughter) hits Banks by mistake and the cracks seem ready to form. The distraction lets Lacey hit the Woman’s Right to finish Banks at 13:26 (with Cole’s call being heard on the replay, because the building is that quiet).

So it’s one on one with Evans hammering away and grabbing a neckbreaker for two. Bayley sends her shoulder first into the post though and the stomping ensues. More shouting and right hands in the corner have Lacey in trouble but she gets up a boot to cut Bayley off. The slingshot Bronco Buster connects and the double springboard moonsault gets two. Cue Sasha with a Backstabber to Lacey though, allowing Bayley to hit the bulldog driver to retain at 19:18.

Rating: C. It worked well, even after the awesome force that is Tamina was gone. At least these four have some backstories and characters so it is a little bit better than having five random people in there doing all of their spots as fast as they can. Bayley retaining is fine enough, as she has a tendency to do well at Wrestlemania, though Lacey winning the title would have been a nice feel good moment.

Wrestlemania 37 is in Los Angeles. I’m sure.

We recap John Cena vs. the Fiend in the Firefly Funhouse Match. Cena returned a few weeks ago and didn’t a Wrestlemania match but the Fiend showed up to point at the sign (because THE FIEND has to point at the sign) and the challenge was on. Bray Wyatt then explained that this is fallout from Cena beating him at Wrestlemania XXX, which is what send Wyatt completely over the edge and led to the creation of the Fiend. It makes enough sense and that’s all it needs to do for the most part.

John Cena vs. The Fiend

Cena does his full entrance and we cut to the Funhouse, where Wyatt says Cena will be fighting himself. Cena follows him through the door and I guess we’ll say the match starts there. With Cena standing in the dark, Puppet Vince pops up to ask if Cena has the ruthless aggression to be a star. If not, he’s fired. Bray appears in the ring and calls out someone for a fight and here’s Cena in his 2002 gear to say RUTHLESS AGGRESSION (ala his debut against Kurt Angle) but he can’t hit the slap on Bray. Wyatt: “You can look but you can’t touch!”

Bray disappears and we hit the Saturday Night’s Main Event intro (yeah don’t bother to try and make sense out of some of the pieces of this). Bray does a Hulk Hogan impression (behind a piece of the big blue cage of course) and talks about how his partner Johnny Largemeat is all about the muscles. Cena, lifting weights, comes in and does a Hogan/Randy Savage hybrid impression. He lifts so much his arms won’t come up anymore and now it’s off to the Dr. of Thuganomics Cena.

Wyatt and Cena are in the ring again with Cena realizing that he can only speak in rhyme. We get a Husky Harris joke and Cena talks about taking chances. That’s too much for Wyatt, who calls Cena a bully to takes others’ weaknesses and turns them into jokes. Cena throws the nuts at Wyatt, who knocks him out with a chain. Now it’s cult leader Wyatt and we go to the Wrestlemania XXX match, which Wyatt calls his grandest failure. Back in the ring now, with Wyatt saying it is time to rewrite his own story.

Bray hands Cena a chair (again ala Wrestlemania) and tells Cena to fix his mistake. This time Cena swings….and now we’re on Nitro, with Bray as Eric Bischoff to introduce the Hollywood Hogan version of Cena. Puppet Vince: “IT’S SUCH GOOD S***!” Cena freaks out and realizes he is beating up Huskus the Pig. The Fiend pops up behind him for the Mandible Claw and, after hearing Cena calls Bray overhyped and privileged, Sister Abigail finishes at about 13:30.

Rating: A+. This is one of those things that was amazing live and then it gets even better when you have a chance to think about the thing. This was a huge deconstruction of the entire John Cena legacy, down to what would have happened if he had finally turned heel like so many people wanted him to.

It turns into a What If/Road Not Taken idea and that is amazing to see, as Cena really does have a detailed and incredible rise to the top. Wyatt sees him as a fraud who has done everything he can to hold others, including Wyatt himself, down and he needed to avenge his Wrestlemania XXX loss. This was outstanding and one of the most well thought out and incredible ideas that I’ve seen WWE ever present, and I’m probably missing big parts of the whole thing.

Titus O’Neil isn’t sure what he just saw.

We recap Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar. McIntyre was the Chosen One but screwed up and got fired, so he reinvented himself and came back to WWE as a man. Then McIntyre won the Royal Rumble, eliminating Brock Lesnar in the process. Cue the title match, as McIntyre is finally ready to achieve his destiny.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar is defending and for once, Paul Heyman doesn’t’ handle his introduction. Drew hits the first Claymore for the first two count at 17 seconds. Another Claymore is countered into the German suplex, followed by a second for a bonus. There’s the third and McIntyre is in trouble. The F5 gets one (that’s Drew’s thing) and another gets two. There’s a third F5 for another near fall (Heyman: “He’s really good. Hit him again! He can’t keep kicking out all night!”) but McIntyre escapes the fourth. Three straight Claymores make Drew champion at 4:32.

Rating: C+. It was fun and energetic but I’m completely over watching this style. It has been done to death and I could go for something fresh. Is it asking too much for a ten minute match instead of ten finishers in four minutes? McIntyre winning was the only way you could go here as Lesnar has been champion for so long recently that it no longer has any impact. This went as it should have, but egads find a better way to do them.

McIntyre celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked this one better than the first night by a good stretch as the matches certainly felt bigger. The main event and some other things came off like they belonged on Wrestlemania, but there are still things that make this show feel like absolutely nothing. Again though, you can only put so much of that on WWE as they were up against the wall and had to do a lot of things at the last minute. It was good if you give them a lot of breaks and really, how can you not with a show like this?

Overall Overall Rating: C+. Of course this didn’t feel like Wrestlemania and that is because it barely was Wrestlemania. The problem is that with so much build and setup for the whole thing, WWE absolutely had to do something, especially if television was going to continue as usual. No it isn’t good by comparison to other Wrestlemanias but nothing was the same around this time. Things would get better going forward but this was still the dark ages of the pandemic. They did what they could here and in that regard, this show worked out as well as it could have.

Ratings Comparison

Liv Morgan vs. Natalya

Original: D+

2021 Redo: C-

Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley

Original: C+

2021 Redo: B+

Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley

Original: D+

2021 Redo: C

Dolph Ziggler vs. Otis

Original: D+

2021 Redo: C-

Randy Orton vs. Edge

Original: B

2021 Redo: B-

Street Profits vs. Angel Garza/Austin Theory

Original: D+

2021 Redo: D+

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Naomi vs. Tamina vs. Lacey Evans

Original: D

2021 Redo: C

John Cena vs. The Fiend

Original: N/A

2021 Redo: A+

Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre

Original: D

2021 Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: C-

2021 Redo: B-

Overall Overall Rating

Original: C

2021 Redo: C+

That’s one of the biggest changes I can remember having as the matches almost all went up and then the overall rating barely goes up. This was hardly a normal show though so the drastic swing a year later isn’t surprising.

Here is the original review if you are interested:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2020/04/05/wrestlemania-xxxvi-night-two-the-wwe-psyche/

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

AND

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