Two weeks ago, WWE presented their annual extravaganza, the greatest show in live entertainment, the grandest stage of them all, for the 41st time. Wrestlemania made its way to Las Vegas for the first time in more than 30 years, and Sin City would play host to one of the most unique and interesting shows in recent memory, when it comes to the lifelong story of Wrestlemania. Let’s take a look at some of the good, some of the bad, and everything in between from WrestleMania 41, which took place at Allegiant Stadium in Vegas!
The Good:
WrestleMania being on two nights has indeed split the fan base, with some watching what does and does not deserve to be a WrestleMania match. It also splits what gets left off sometimes and frustrates fans the most – more on that later. For now, some of the weekend’s best saw grudges get settled, moments be made, and a veteran of the squared circle finally get his Wrestlemania main event after nearly 20 years. First off, the opening match of Wrestlemania Sunday saw a triple threat match for the WWE Women’s World Championship, pitting the champion Iyo Sky against both Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley in a match featuring 3 of the best in the world today. As expected, they tore the house down to start the show! They told an incredible story, which showed Iyo going from the “afterthought” in the eyes of her two challengers to the undeniable champion who left WrestleMania as she entered: the World Champion! One of the best matches of the weekend opened up the second night of the show in style!
Later on during night 2, Randy Orton was on the hunt for an opponent in a match that had changed after Kevin Owens’ injury. It ended up being an open challenge, which brought out the beloved TNA World Champion, Joe Hendry! Someone must’ve said his name, because he appeared, and he got an incredible moment with one of the all-time greats on the grandest stage. Even in defeat, it was a great moment and a fun addition to the WrestleMania card. Another match affected by injury was from night 1, where El Grande Americano was slated to face Rey Mysterio, but after the WWE Hall of Famer was injured on Friday, the recently debuted Rey Fenix got a chance to have his WrestleMania debut after less than a month! It was a short match, but a banger nonetheless, as the two men put on a fun match that showed off each other’s technical prowess! Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre also faced off in an incredible Sin City Street Fight, completing what was an underrated and fun story with Drew getting a much-needed big win on the grandest stage!
Another night 2 match that stole the show was the Fatal-4-Way for the Intercontinental Championship, as Bron Breakker defended against Finn Balor, Penta, and Dominik Mysterio. These 4 told a great story, and the right person went over, as Dirty Dom got his first big singles win, capitalizing on the word done by his Judgement Day brethren Finn Balor, and hit the Frog Splash to win his first main roster singles title! The fans, who historically hate Dom, went nuts, and the younger Mysterio got his moment – a refreshing and welcomed moment for a kid we have literally seen grow up right before our very eyes! Becky Lynch also returned for the first time in nearly a year, filling in for an injured Bayley, to team with Lyra Valkyria and win the Women’s Tag Team Titles over Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. Another fun moment where things were extremely fun!
Finally, the best match of the weekend was arguably night 1’s main event, the triple-threat match between CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns. The story began with one of hatred, friendship, loyalty, and history between them. Reigns and Rollins’ story goes back more than a decade, where they broke in as part of the Shield (ironically, as CM Punk’s bodyguards). Then, there was the breakup of the Shield, where Rollins stabbed Roman in the back. The decade that followed saw all three men go in very different directions. Punk left WWE before returning a year and a half ago, while Reigns and Rollins battled for the top spot in WWE all along. Reigns ruled as Undisputed Champion for more than 1,300 days, and he and Rollins have been forever intertwined. After a brutal, fun, and intense main event, Paul Heyman proved to be the difference maker, turning on both Punk and Reigns to side with Rollins, giving him his first Wrestlemania main event win! An incredible ending that leads to even more intrigue as the following year in WWE begins.
The Bad
The only bad thing about this year’s Wrestlemania was the lack of one particular match, which seemed like a shoo-in for months based on how things were booked, and that’s the WWE Tag Team titles not being on the show. The division has been booked so well, with DIY, The Street Profits, Los Garza, The Motor City Machine Guns, and Pretty Deadly all being showcased for months as top teams vying fiercely to become tag team champions. While a TLC Match between three of those five teams has been booked for the SmackDown after Mania, this was something that felt worthy of a WrestleMania spot, but alas, it was omitted, something many are unhappy to see as reality. Hopefully, all of the men involved can steal the show and be on the card next year!
The Rest
Nothing at Wrestlemania was inherently bad this year; things may have been lackluster or underachieved expectations, but nothing bad. Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair had a decent WWE Women’s Title Match where the right person won, and Tiffy retained the title over her veteran counterpart. Jey Uso, while it was a fun and enjoyable match and had people invested every step of the way, finally became World Heavyweight Champion by making GUNTHER submit in the center of the ring. Naomi and Jade Cargill had a good match in the middle of WrestleMania Saturday, and the New Day vs. War Raiders match was a serviceable match for the World Tag Team Titles as well. Jacob Fatu defeated LA Knight to become the United States Champion as well, a deserving moment for a hard-working young man who has gotten beyond over in the last year since his WWE debut! AJ Styles and Logan Paul’s match was good for what it needed to be, but wasn’t anything to write home about.
The most controversial match of the weekend was the one that wrapped everything up, the most hyped match of all. Cody Rhodes vs John Cena felt like a past vs present match, where Cena was desperate to do whatever it took to finally win his 17th world title and get his final moment in the sun, while Cody was aiming to protect and save WWE. It wasn’t the greatest match ever, and Travis Scott’s involvement felt very weird and misplaced, even though he had history with Cody, but in the end, Cena got the job done and won the title. “The Last Real Champion” of WWE broke Ric Flair’s record of 16 world title reigns, and now continues his final year in wrestling with the most prestigious prize in the world, one last time. It has split fans on how to feel, but it will certainly keep people curious as to what Cena will do now that WWE’s richest prize is once again around his waist, all while we count down the days to his final appearance as an active competitor later this year.
No matter what happens next following WrestleMania 41, things will always keep fans on the edges of their seats. John Cena has less than a year to go and is the world champion, Iyo Sky and Tiffany Stratton remain atop their respective women’s divisions, Jey Uso has been crowned a world champion, and Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman shocked not only the world but also Roman Reigns and CM Punk as well. Buckle up, everyone, the WWE never slows down, and things will only get better from here!
