Wrestlemania XLII Night Two
Date: April 19, 2026
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We’re back in the stadium and this half of the lineup has some promise we have the main event of Roman Reigns challenging CM Punk for the Raw World Title, plus Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar in a heck of a hoss fight. Other than that, there is the almost traditional Wrestlemania ladder match so let’s get to it.

Here is Night One if you need a recap.

The opening video is mostly a sequel to last night, with Lin-Manuel Miranda talking about how the memories and moments are still coming but you haven’t seen anything yet.

Here is host John Cena to get things going. He basically says yesterday was big and tonight will be too so let’s start with something huge.

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar

Yeah this qualifies and Paul Heyman is here with Lesnar. They fight over a lockup to start and neither can get anywhere early on, leaving Lesnar a bit unsure about this. Lesnar goes with the amateur stuff by driving Femi into the corner for the shoulders, with Femi easily shoving him away. Lesnar’s clotheslines don’t really work and Femi clotheslines him out to the floor. Heyman gives Lesnar a “WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT” look and Lesnar throws the steps to blow off some steam.

Femi reaches out for him and gets his throat snapped across the middle rope to let Lesnar take over. Femi gets posted a few times, followed by a ram into the steps and they head back inside. The German suplexes start rolling but Femi fires off some elbows in the corner. The F5 connects but Femi pops up for a chokeslam. The Fall From Grace finishes Lesnar at 4:44.

Rating: B+. The wrestling might not have been perfect, but my goodness that is as great of a big stage debut as you could have gotten. Lesnar made Femi look like a million bucks out there, as Femi took everything Lesnar had, got up and finished him with one Fall From Grace. Absolutely excellent here and Femi looked outstanding. Also, points to Heyman, whose facials and mannerisms boosted it up that much more.

Post match Lesnar stays down through the replays and Femi going all the way up the ramp and to the stage. That’s the kind of little thing that makes it that much bigger. Lesnar sits up, looks at the fans for a bit, and takes off his gloves and boots (while crying). Heyman gets in the ring and gives Lesnar a very emotional hug, with Heyman (also crying) raising Lesnar’s hand. The fans give him a big THANK YOU BROCK chant as he poses on the ropes, showing more emotion than he did in his entire career. Assuming this is it, that couldn’t have gone much better.

Intercontinental Title: Rusev vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee vs. Penta vs. JD McDonagh

Penta is defending in a ladder match and gets a special entrance talking about how he’ll beat anyone. Then he puts on a big helmet (apparently Shao Kahn from Mortal Kombat). McDonagh jumps Lee before the bell and we start fast with the luchadors (all in red for a nice touch) clearing the ring. Rusev pulls Mysterio to the floor and sends him into the steps, leaving Lee and Penta to dropkick a ladder into Rusev, who doesn’t seem to mind. A ladder is bridged between the apron and the announcers’ table and McDonagh hits Penta with the ladder on the floor.

Evans hits a great looking dive out to the floor, leaving Mysterio to miss the 619 to Lee. Instead Lee hits him with a superkick as Rusev gets back in to clear the ring with the ladder. Penta bulldogs Rusev down and Evans is there to cut McDonagh off atop the ladder. The ladder is turned over and McDonagh lands in the ring as Evans goes flying off screen. Thankfully Evans is back in with a springboard clothesline to cut McDonagh off, leaving Lee to get caught inside a ladder.

That’s fine with Mysterio, who gives the ladder a 619 to clear the ring. The climb is cut off and Mysterio is tied up in the ladder with Lee getting to clear the ring for a change. Rusev is there to cut him off as well and Evans is slammed onto a bridged ladder. Lee throws Mysterio at Rusev to knock him off the apron and through the ladder bridged at ringside. Back in and Mysterio goes up top to cut Lee off, only to have Lee pull him into a Styles Clash.

That lets Lee go up but McDonagh plants him with a Spanish Fly off the ladder. McDonagh climbs but Penta is there with a Mexican Destroyer onto another bridged ladder. Evans is up to go after the title but Rusev is there to cut him off and send him crashing outside. Rusev climbs but Evans dives in with an OG Cutter to bring Rusev off the ladder and everyone is down again. Penta climbs up and retains at 15:10.

Rating: B. That ending was a bit of a letdown as nothing was topping that cutter from Evans. It felt like they were building towards Evans getting the big moment but Penta just won instead. Penta retaining is perfectly fine, but dang they could have had a heck of a great moment with Evans getting the big moment. All that being said, heck of a match here.

We look back at Lesnar’s loss and seeming retirement. Commentary gives Lesnar a big thank you.

We look at the ending of last night’s main event. Are you sure that’s a good idea?

Club WWE ad.

We run down the remaining card.

US Title: Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams

Williams, with Lil Yachty is challenging and the train of his jacket stretches out for almost the entire length of the ramp in a great visual. Zayn starts slugging away and knocks Williams outside, only for Williams to drop him with the spinning kick. The Trick Kick is blocked and Williams gives him a jumping neckbreaker. The Trick Shot is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two and Zayn starts kicking away in the corner.

Zayn posts him and drops him hard onto the floor as they’re just leaning into the double turn (if it hasn’t already happened). A Helluva Kick against the barricade gets a near countout and Zayn is ticked at Williams for surviving. The Helluva Kick is loaded up but Yachty gets in a cheap shot. The Trick Shot gets a VERY close two but a second misses, allowing Zayn to roll him up for two. Zayn suplexes him into the corner, only to charge into the Trick Shot for the pin and the title at 7:03.

Rating: B-. That’s how it should have gone as Williams has looked like the biggest star in the world as of late and Zayn has been a made man for the better part of ever. This was a heck of a way to make Williams feel like a star and he already looks the part. I could have gone with it going a bit longer, but the pieces are there for Williams to be a huge deal.

Post match Williams celebrates with his parents in a nice touch.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor

Street fight, which was added earlier today. Mysterio comes out on a throne, with a bunch of luchadors carrying their king. That’s rather awesome, though Balor is back as the Demon and has a heart on the stage in front of him to make it even better. Balor hammers away to start and knocks Mysterio outside without too much trouble. It’s already time for the weapons but the table takes too long, allowing Mysterio to get in a shot. Mysterio sets up some chairs inside but gets dropped onto them for his efforts.

A superkick drops Balor though and the 619 into the frog splash gets…one, leaving Mysterio shaken up. Balor knocks him down but misses the Coup de grace, allowing Mysterio to hit him with a chair for two. Mysterio takes too much time to load up the table as well but Balor charges into a superkick and gets thrown through it (with the table exploding).

A chair to the back sets up a 619 with the chair around Balor’s neck. The frog splash gets two so Mysterio gets another table, which again takes too long (Cole: “Uh oh, Demon’s up.”). A bunch of chair shots knock Mysterio silly and the Coup de Grace through the table finishes Mysterio at 10:26.

Rating: B-. That’s about all it should have been, even though I did think it would have been amazing to see Mysterio get the huge upset here. At the same time, Mysterio is someone who can take all kinds of losses and bounce back so it isn’t like this is going to hurt him. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Balor win a big match for a change.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill

Ripley, in white for a very big change of pace, is challenging. Cargill slams her down to start but Ripley is right back up to knock her outside. That’s fine with Cargill, who sends her into the barricade to take over again. Back in and Ripley tells her to bring it and smiles a lot, earning herself a chinlock. Ripley pops up with the handstand kick to the head but Cargill knocks her down again.

Ripley reverses Jaded into a victory roll for two but here are Cargill’s lackeys for a distraction. The beatdown is on outside but Iyo Sky runs in to cut them off. Sky Asai moonsaults onto them (avoiding Cargill’s pump kick in the process). The Riptide is escaped but so is Jaded, allowing Riptide to give Ripley the pin and the title at 10:07.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t sure which way this was going to go but if it sets up Sky vs. Ripley in another singles feud, I’m all for it. Ripley has been needing something to do for awhile now and this certainly fits the description. This wasn’t the biggest match coming into it but they had a good power match which went by the book and it worked well enough.

We look at the Brock Lesnar retirement again.

Here is John Cena to announce tonight’s attendance: 55,255, for a two night total of 106,072. Cena says this concludes his hosting duties, but here are Miz and Kit Wilson who want their Wrestlemania moment. This brings out Danhausen, who has a group of mini Hausens and drives down in the Danhausenmobile. Danhausen introduces himself to Cena (he’s a big fanhausen) but Miz cuts them off again.

He still wants his moment but Danhausen sicks one of the minis on Wilson, who punches him low. Danhausen: “DOGPILE!” Miz is knocked to the floor and carried out by the minis, leaving Danhausen to hit a Shuffle. A mini explosion goes off and Danhausen, uh, escapes. Cena cracks up and says retired life is great. With that, it’s on to the main event. This was hilarious as Danhausen is so goofy but it works.

We recap CM Punk defending the Raw World Title against Roman Reigns. Punk has been champion and hates Reigns, who won the Royal Rumble. They have talked quite a bit of trash to each other and now it’s time to fight, with Punk saying he’s jealous of Reigns’ success and Reigns saying Punk is a fake.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns

Punk is defending. Reigns gets played live to the ring with drums, a piano and live single. Punk on the other hand gets a big montage and walks through the back to his old Ring Of Honor theme. He walks onto the stage in silence and does IT’S CLOBBERIN TIME to start Cult Of Personality. As a bonus, Punk has a jacket with names of three WWE employees who passed away recently, plus Larry and a Harley Race crown on the back.

The bell rings and they stare at each other to start for the early trash talking. Punk’s headlock doesn’t get him very far as Reigns is right back with the Samoan drop. They go outside with Punk being sent into various things and Reigns goes inside to break the count. Punk gets thrown over the barricade and sits down, with Reigns going after him and getting punched down. A clothesline off the barricade drops Reigns but he sends Punk into the announcers’ table to cut him off again.

Back in and Reigns tells Punk to call him a b**** again because this ain’t promo day. Reigns punches him down again but Punk gets in a few shots of his own. The high crossbody lets Punk hammer away, followed by the running knee in the corner. It’s way too early for the GTS though and Reigns scores with the Superman Punch for two. The spear is loaded up but Punk cuts it off with a running knee and they head outside with Punk hammering away on the announcers’ table.

The elbow takes forever to load up though and Reigns gets up to cut him off. Punk gets tied in the Tree Of Woe as he’s hanging over the apron. That lets Reigns fire off Superman Punches and hit him with the steps to really bust him open. The announcers’ table is loaded up and Punk gets powerbombed through as he is gushing blood. Back in and the spear is countered into a GTS out of nowhere for two. Another GTS is countered into the spear for a rather near fall and Reigns says it’s time to go to sleep. Punk escapes and hits his own Superman Punch for two…so he grabs the ulafala.

Punk calls for the spear, which is of course countered into a guillotine. Punk swings around for two and grabs the Anaconda Vice, which is reversed into another guillotine. That’s reversed into a failed Sharpshooter attempt, which is reversed back into the guillotine, with Punk flipping over for two. They get up and talk more trash before slugging it out. Punk headbutts Reigns and knocks himself half silly but distracts the referee, followed by a low blow.

Another GTS connects for two so Punk lays him on the announcers’ table. After taking his sweet time, Punk drops the elbow and they’re both mostly dead. Punk takes what’s left of Reigns back inside for another GTS but Reigns bounces off the ropes onto Punk’s shoulders…but Punk collapses. Back up and the spear drops Punk, who bounces back up to his knees. Another spear gives Reigns the pin and the title at 33:43.

Rating: A. This was a near masterpiece as they beat the fire out of each other and I wasn’t sure who was going to win until the finish. That’s a great sign and it turned into a war between two people who were trying to beat the other no matter what. I love the clean finish too, as it looks like Reigns is the better man, which he should be. It’s a case of Punk’s body ultimately giving out on him and Reigns finally beat him. Great stuff and an instant classic.

Overall Rating: A-. I’m not sure what they put in the dinner after last night but this was a polar opposite of what we got on Saturday. This was outstanding stuff and even the worst match on the card was perfectly fine. You don’t get this kind of a show very often and WWE absolutely brought it here, with the main event being an instant classic. I had a blast with this show and it’s one of the better shows I’ve seen in a long time. In addition to the main event, they made some stars with Williams and Femi, so the future even looks bright. Heck of a show.

Overall Overall Rating: B. I’m kind of in awe over how much better Night Two was than Night One, as it might as well have been two different companies. There are good parts to Night One, but the second night just blew it away in ever aspect. Overall it’s rather good, but if you mix the two nights together, it’s an all timer. Sunday saved the weekend for WWE though, as it’s just not even close in quality between the two. Check out the main event for sure, but skip most of the first night.

Results
Oba Femi b. Brock Lesnar – Fall From Grace
Penta b. Je’Von Evans, Rey Mysterio, Rusev, JD McDonagh and Dragon Lee – Penta pulled down the title
Trick Williams b. Sami Zayn – Trick Shot
Finn Balor b. Dominik Mysterio – Coup de Grace through a table
Rhea Ripley b. Jade Cargill – Riptide
Roman Reigns b. CM Punk – Spear

 

 

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 with that out of the way (because I’m absolutely writing this after Night One wrapped up and certainly not a few days in advance of course), we’re on to Night Two, which has the bigger and better main event, plus a rather interesting battle of the monsters. This show looks a lot better on paper, but that’s not how good wrestling is made. I’m hopeful going in so let’s get to it.

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar

We’ll start big here as this is an absolute showdown between a couple of monsters who have been teasing their big fight for about a month now. Lesnar issued and open challenge for Wrestlemania and Femi is trying his luck. That should be more than enough to make things interesting, but Femi has run through him a few times now and it has me wondering what we might be seeing.

At the end of the day, as hard as it might be to believe, I don’t see a reason to have Femi lose here so we’ll say Femi gets the huge win. Lesnar seems to be wrapping up his career (he’s 48 so it isn’t going to be much longer anyway) and having him lose to some up and coming stars like Femi on the way out is a good way to go. Lesnar is more than a made man so a loss isn’t going to hurt him (never has before) so yeah, Femi gets the big win.

Intercontinental Title: Penta(c) vs. Rusev vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh vs. Rey Mysterio

It’s Wrestlemania so of course we’re seeing a big multi person mess of a ladder match. As usual, the best thing to do here is just eliminate a few names who aren’t leaving with the title. Therefore, Rusev, Lee and McDonagh are gone, as there’s pretty much no chance they’re winning here. That leaves us with the other three options and that’s not as easy as it should be.

Of the three remaining options, I think I’ll go with Penta to retain. He’s doing well enough as champion and save for Mysterio getting a title win that he absolutely does not need (a possibility), I don’t see anyone but Evans being a serious threat to win the title. Evans winning is absolutely in the cards, but I think they might wait for a bigger moment. Penta wins, with Evans as a legitimate second option.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Jade Cargill(c) vs. Rhea Ripley

Now here we have a match that has my interest, as I’m really not sure where it’s going to go. On one hand you have Ripley as one of the biggest stars women’s wrestling has ever seen, but at the same time you have Cargill, who shouldn’t be losing very often. You also have the Iyo Sky factor, as this whole thing seems primed for her to turn on Ripley and cost her the title. This really could go either way, but it’s only so interesting of a match in the first place.

I’ll go with Cargill to retain, though I’m not sure about Sky turning on her. It’s almost so much of a simple story that I don’t know if I can see it happening. Both Ripley and Cargill need the win, but Ripley can take a loss better than Cargill here. Cargill beating someone on Ripley’s level would help her a bit, as getting to brag doing doing her cocky pin on Ripley would be a big deal. Cargill wins, but it’s probably the least confident I am in anything all weekend.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor

Here we have a straight up grudge match as they were partners in Judgment Day for the better part of ever and then Mysterio turned on Balor who wanted to do things the right way. As a result, Mysterio and company turned on him to set up this match. That’s enough to get going here, but Balor is also bringing back the Demon to make things all the more intense.

As much as it would seem to make sense to have Balor win here, I’ll take Mysterio to win. We’ve seen that one of the best things Mysterio can do is brag about his upset wins and this would be pretty high up on the list. Mysterio is someone who could very well wind up in the World Title picture someday and Balor has way too much of a history of choking in big matches. I’ll go with Mysterio to win in a heck of an upset, though again I’m far from sure about it.

US Title: Sami Zayn(c) vs. Trick Williams

This is another match where I’m not sure what is going to happen as it feels like we’re in for a big turn, or maybe even two of them. Zayn seems to be changing over to the side of evil (or at least the side of the middle) while Williams is already one of the most popular stars on the Smackdown roster. Zayn basically won the title to guarantee he’s on the show, but Williams wants to be a big star going forward.

I want to say that Williams wins the title here and becomes a hero, but there might be something bigger in having Zayn cheat to keep Williams from winning the title here and getting it later. I think that’s what we’ll go with here, as Zayn embraces more of the dark side to keep things going the right way, while Williams eventually becomes the cool hero that the fans want him to be.

Raw World Title: CM Punk(c) vs. Roman Reigns

This is the match that interests me the most and it makes sense that it’s the last match taking place over the whole weekend. Punk is the older champion who is trying to hang on against the former champion who wants the top spot back. That is more than enough to carry the feud but dang their promos have been great throughout. This is a match that feels like a tossup and I’ll absolutely take that in a Wrestlemania main event.

As possible as it seems that Reigns gets the title back here, I really don’t see the point in giving him the win. Therefore, I’ll take Punk to retain, with next to no idea who comes after the title next. The best thing I can say here is that this feels like a Wrestlemania main event, which is a lot more than you can say about some of them over the years. I don’t know where this is going and that’s a good feeling to have for a match of this magnitude.

Overall Thoughts

This is a show where the big parts are looking rather good, but the rest is quite a bit weaker. Hopefully there are a few strong surprises in there, though Lesnar vs. Femi and the main event should be enough to carry things. The potential is certainly there, but it’s going to need more than that to pull it off. That very well may be the case, but it’s no guarantee.

 

 

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:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dominik Mysterio/Santos Escobar vs. Rey Mysterio/Andrade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso

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

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

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

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

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

Damage CTRL vs. Naomi/Bianca Belair/Jade Cargill

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Intercontinental Title: Gunther vs. Sami Zayn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Various celebrities are here.

Wrestlemania Sunday rundown.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A long highlight package wraps us up.

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

Ratings Comparison

Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch

Original: B
Redo: B

Tag Team Ladder Match

Original: C+
Redo: B-

Dominik Mysterio/Santos Escobar vs. Andrade/Rey Mysterio

Original: C+
Redo: C+

Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso

Original: D
Redo: D

Damage CTRL vs. Jade Cargill/Naomi/Bianca Belair

Original: C+
Redo: C

Sami Zayn vs. Gunther

Original: A-
Redo: A-

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

Original: C+
Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: B-
Redo: B-

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

Becky G sings America The Beautiful.

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

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

US Title: Austin Theory vs. John Cena

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Damage CTRL vs. Lita/Trish Stratus/Becky Lynch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bad Bunny is on Spanish commentary.

Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pat McAfee vs. Miz

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

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

Wrestlemania XL is in Philadelphia.

Night Two rundown.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ratings Comparison

John Cena vs. Austin Theory

Original: C
Redo: C

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

Original: B
Redo: B

Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B+
Redo: B+

Damage CTRL vs. Becky Lynch/Trish Stratus/Lita

Original: C-
Redo: C-

Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio

Original: A-
Redo: B

Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte

Original: B+
Redo: A

Pat McAfee vs. Miz

Original: C
Redo: C

Usos vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

Original: A-
Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+
Redo: A-

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

 

 

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

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

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

Jesse James Decker performs America The Beautiful.

Video on Night One.

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

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

Gable Steveson is here again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bobby Lashley vs. Omos

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

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

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

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

Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AJ Styles vs. Edge

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tonight’s attendance: 78,354.

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

Brawling Brutes vs. New Day

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

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

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

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

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

Austin Theory vs. Pat McAfee

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

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

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

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

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

Vince McMahon vs. Pat McAfee

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

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

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

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

Wrestlemania XXXIX is in Los Angeles.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reigns celebrates and a lot of pyro ends the show.

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

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

 

Ratings Comparison

RKBro vs. Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy

Original: B-
Redo: B-

Omos vs. Bobby Lashley

Original: D+
Redo: C-

Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn

Original: C+
Redo: B-

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

Original: D+
Redo: C

AJ Styles vs. Edge

Original: B-
Redo: B

New Day vs. Brawling Brutes

Original: N/A
Redo: N/A

Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory

Original: C+
Redo: B

Vince McMahon vs. Pat McAfee

Original: D+
Redo: D-

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: C+
Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: C
Redo: B-

Overall Overall Rating

Original: B-
Redo: B

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

Wrestlemania 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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Monday Night Raw
Date: April 13, 2026
Location: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s a special show this week with the final Raw before this weekend’s Wrestlemania. That means we are not likely in for much in the way of the wrestling, but we should be getting a lot when it comes to hyping up matches. If nothing else, it should be the last big push between Roman Reigns and CM Punk. Let’s get to it.

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

Roman Reigns joins us to start and talks about how the fans trust him more than CM Punk because he’s real with them. We see some of Punk’s recent actions and what Pat McAfee has said about him. Reigns is giving Punk one more chance to tell the truth tonight. This was approved by Roman Reigns. Odd ending but ok.

We look at the Brock Lesnar/Oba Femi contract signing brawl from last week.

Adam Pearce is in the ring with HHH to open the show and says tonight, Lesnar and Femi will sign their contract separately. This brings out Paul Heyman, who says no one will get close to Lesnar during Wrestlemania fight week. Lesnar comes to the ring and signs, with a tip of his hat to Pearce. Heyman goes to talk about Femi, but Lesnar takes the mic and says no one will know Femi’s name after Wrestlemania. Heyman says there will be a winner and a loser and the winner will be Lesnar.

We look at the setup for the Wrestlemania six man tag.

The Vision is training with IShowSpeed, who is worried due to the whole “I’m not a wrestler” issue. They tell him that it doesn’t matter so he gets in the ring with the vision and what appears to be Dante Chen and Edris Enofe. Speed hits a nice high crossbody and a rather aggressive Boston crab before declaring himself ready.

Charlotte vs. Lyra Valkyria

Their partners are here too. Valkyria takes her down into a headlock to start but Charlotte reverses, only for Valkyria to slip away. Charlotte nips up and Valkyria drops her with a spinwheel kick, much to Bayley’s approval. A whip into the corner sends Charlotte to the apron and Valkyria kicks her to the floor. The dive misses though and Charlotte hits a big boot as we take a break.

We come back with Valkyria hitting a top rope ax kick for two but her moonsault hits knees. Charlotte’s moonsault connects for two but Natural Selection is blocked. Something like a fisherman’s buster gives Valkyria two so Charlotte throws her onto Bayley. Back in and Charlotte tries a rollup but Bayley trips her down to give Valkyria the pin at 10:24.

Rating: C+. This was another basic preview for the four (or maybe three) way at Wrestlemania. That’s not a bad way to go as Valkyria getting a pin on Charlotte is one way to change the titles. These random matches are about all you can do with the match set up and the match was completely acceptable.

Post match we get a staredown but it doesn’t get physical.

LA Knight and the Usos are ready for Wrestlemania but here are Solo Sikoa and the MFT’s to interrupt. Sikoa insults Knight and calls him an embarrassment, so Knight wants a six man tag against any of the MFT’s tonight.

We look at a clip from the Hulk Hogan documentary, focusing on the original NWO turn.

Here is Stephanie Vaquer for a chat…and Liv Morgan pops up from behind to shove her into Cathy Kelly. Agents break them up and Morgan calls her a little b****. Vaquer charges in and the brawl is on again before they’re separated again, leaving Morgan screaming a lot.

Video on Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill, including Iyo Sky being taken out.

Sky is in the back when the Kabuki Warriors come up. Asuka calls Sky Ripley’s sidekick but Sky tries to tell Sane that she doesn’t have to listen to this. That’s cut off and Asuka makes Sky vs. Sane for tonight. Asuka calls Sane a good girl and they leave together.

Usos/LA Knight vs. MFT’s

Jimmy knocks Mateo into the corner to start and it’s off to Jey for a running forearm. Jey clotheslines Mateo to the floor for a big dive and we take a rather early break. We come back with Sikoa knocking Jimmy to the floor but Jey fights his way out of trouble. Knight comes in to clean house and Mateo is sent outside. Knight drops Loa but Mateo makes the save as everything breaks down. Jey low bridges Sikoa to the floor, where Sikoa sends him over the announcers’ table. Cue Tama Tonga (not here earlier) for a staredown with Sikoa, who isn’t pleased with him. During the distraction, Knight gives Loa the BFT for the pin at 6:48.

Rating: C+. This was another fine match, though I’m not sure why they needed a break in a match that doesn’t even last seven minutes. The good thing is Knight and the Usos have some momentum heading into Wrestlemania. Yeah it’s just a celebrity match, but at least it’s something a bit unique rather than the same multi team/man stuff we get elsewhere.

We look at Pat McAfee and Cody Rhodes’ segment from Smackdown. This resulted in Randy Orton beating up Jelly Roll.

Here is Gunther for a chat…and never mind as Seth Rollins runs in to knock Gunther outside. Rollins heard Gunther say it was personal between them last week and he wants to know why. He offers Gunther a chance to get in the ring and explain (which makes you wonder why he beat Gunther up in the first place) so Gunther grabs a mic.

Gunther goes face to face with Rollins and says it has ticked him off to hear Rollins talk about how he was the best in the world. When Gunther was World Champion and going for the best competition in the world, Rollins became Paul Heyman’s servant. Gunther says it’s personal to him because he wants to prove he’s the best in the world. The fight is on with Rollins knocking him to the floor but Gunther avoids a Stomp on the steps and bails into the crowd. That is a rather basic explanation from Gunther but it’s something that makes perfect sense for him.

We get a video narrated by John Cena advertising Club WWE (which has been shown in graphics for the last few weeks), which is a way to get fans exclusive access to various things. No word on how much it costs but I’ve heard worse ideas.

We see some smoke with red lights flashing over it and….yeah the Demon is officially back to face Dominik Mysterio.

Dominik Mysterio isn’t happy with Adam Pearce for letting this happen but he didn’t sign to face the Demon so the match has to be canceled. That won’t happen, and Pearce doesn’t care for Dominik talking about his father like he’s a loser. Pearce tells him to go look in the mirror because he’ll get what he deserves.

Iyo Sky vs. Kairi Sane

Sane takes her down and pounds away, followed by a running shoulder in the corner. A nice looking top rope forearm and we hit the chinlock. Sky fights up and flips out of a headscissors before taking Sane outside. The moonsault off the barricade drops Sane again and we take a break.

We come back with Sky’s missile dropkick connecting to send Sane into the corner. Over The Moonsault is broken up so they both go up top, with Sky being knocked into the ropes. Sane is knocked down so cue Asuka to send Sky into the post. This brings out Rhea Ripley (Asuka rolls up her sleeves) for the brawl but Jade Cargill runs in to jump Ripley from behind. Sane dives onto Cargill but Asuka breaks up Over The Moonsault again. Sane’s rollup gets the pin at 9:57.

Rating: B. This wound up being a match with a big angle and I got into what we were seeing. The Asuka vs. Ripley brawl didn’t last long but it made perfect sense for all of the run-ins. That’s a nice way to build up a few stories at once and it happened to come with a rather good match as well.

Video on AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch.

Here are Adam Pearce and HHH for the signing with Oba Femi. Cue Femi, who signs the contract without saying a word. Paul Heyman pops up on stage to say he has never seen someone be perceived as the best around as fast as Femi. Heyman says Femi is the most violent person to come into WWE since Brock Lesnar so the fans chant for OBA.

This annoys Heyman again, but he says that everything comes crashing down for Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Don’t worry though, because Heyman’s door will always be open to him after Wrestlemania. The fans want Femi to beat Heyman up, but Femi says those scars will heal. The emotional beating after he beats Lesnar though? That never goes away. There are twenty five years of history that Lesnar can’t be beaten but Femi has four weeks of evidence that he can. It’s time to end the Beast and everyone can feel it.

Heyman has been Lesnar’s mouthpiece but he has never been an honest one. If Heyman was honest, he would have come out here and said that Lesnar was scared. Femi is the mountain that Lesnar cannot climb and the Beast is being slayed at Wrestlemania. Femi’s delivery isn’t perfect (granted he doesn’t have much experience) but I believed what he was saying and it sounded like he did too, which is a big part.

We get a Liv Morgan music video for a song called Trouble. This is certainly different, but it’s basically just an excuse to have Morgan dancing on TV in various outfits.

Je’Von Evans/Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh/Rusev

McDonagh stomps Lee down in the corner to start and hits a hard clothesline. Evans gets knocked off the apron and it’s off to Rusev to keep Lee in trouble. That’s broken up and it’s off to Evans to make the comeback. Rusev gets low bridged to the floor but McDonagh Asai moonsaults onto Lee. Evans dives onto him but gets fall away slammed onto the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Lee’s running hurricanrana to send McDonagh into Rusev. McDonagh is able to catch him with a running Spanish fly so Evans is back with a flipping kick to the head. The huge dive over the top takes Rusev out, leaving Lee to roll McDonagh up for two. The Styles Clash puts McDonagh away at 8:13.

Rating: B-. This was a fast paced tag match with Rusev playing a good monster. That’s something the ladder match has been needing, as it has felt very thrown together. Giving it a bit of attention is a good idea and hopefully they can deliver on Sunday. The problem is that it’s still a bit thrown together, but this was the best build it has gotten thus far.

Post match Rusev wrecks the winners, as is his custom. Rey Mysterio runs in for the save attempt but gets taken out. Cue Penta but Rusev clears the ring again, including taking out McDonagh. Rusev grabs the Accolade on Lee and cranks way back.

Wrestlemania rundown.

Danhausen interrupts Adam Pearce and wants to talk to John Cena on the phone. Cena isn’t on the phone, though Danhausen hopes that he can see him at Wrestlemania. And then Danhausen disappears.

Here is Roman Reigns for the big closing segment. Reigns takes his time to set up the catchphrase but here is CM Punk, in the crowd, to cut him off. Punk takes his own sweet time to get to ringside, where he gets on the announcers’ table. Punk talks about watching the cold open and says stop him when he’s telling lies. Reigns says they won’t need these mics but Punk says this he hates Reigns because he envies him.

This is all Punk has ever wanted and he is jealous that it was handed to Reigns. He hates that Reigns was champion for so long, because he knows how hard Reigns worked to do that. Punk says the legacy is about how many and he hates how many times Reigns has main evented Wrestlemania. He hates that he feels this way before shifting over to Sika (Reigns’ father).

The reality is that Sika was a champion and a great man and a Hall Of Famer. Punk respects the old timers and he apologizes for invoking Sika’s name in vain. He hates that there is more than one royal family in wrestling and he hates that he wasn’t born into a dynasty. Punk doesn’t know what it’s like to have that kind of family. He grew up on the streets of Chicago and had to find his family.

Those people were found in barns, bowling alleys, abandoned churches and VFW halls. Punk conquered the indies and then he went to Japan and England and he made wrestling his home and family. Punk hates that he feels this way and he hates that he has to share his first singles Wrestlemania main event with Reigns. Tell him when he’s telling lies. He has gold on his shoes and gold around his waist, and on Sunday night after their fight, the gold will be around his head because he’ll still be Heavyweight Champion of the World. Tell him when he’s telling lies (Reigns has just stared at him during this whole thing).

Reigns says that’s probably the truest stuff he’s ever heard Punk say, except for the ending. The truth is he’s hated Punk for a long time, but that’s because of the relationship Punk has with the fans. He hopes that they chant for him when he leaves. No one can take away the connection he has with the fans and that’s his truth. The reality is that the time is up because on Sunday it’s not “AND STILL”, because it’s “AND NEW”.

The nostalgia act is through and on Sunday we fix this mess that Punk has made. On Sunday, the Tribal Chief takes over again and you, and everyone else, will acknowledge him. The staredown ends the show. Reigns didn’t get to say much but he didn’t really need to. This was a money promo and felt like a Wrestlemania go home speech from Punk, who showed some rare vulnerability. There have been some problems with this Wrestlemania build but this hasn’t been one of them.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t much here but that’s almost always the case with five days to go until Wrestlemania. This show was mainly focused on talking and the stuff we got worked well, with Punk’s speech and Femi’s response to Heyman going strong. I want to see their matches over the weekend as the Raw half of the shows are looking good. They mostly stuck the landing here, though the weekend is what really matters.

Results
Lyra Valkyria b. Charlotte – Rollup
Usos/LA Knight b. MFT’s – BFT to Loa
Kairi Sane b. Iyo Sky – Rollup
Je’Von Evans/Dragon Lee b. JD McDonagh/Rusev – Styles Clash to McDonagh

 

 

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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

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