WrestleMania XL weekend ended with the dawn of a new era as Cody Rhodes finished his story and captured the title that his late father, The American Dream Dusty Rhodes, could never win in WWE. The match card went as follows:

  • Rhea Ripley def. Becky Lynch to retain Women’s World Championship
  • A-Town Down Under wins SmackDown Tag Team Titles & Awesome Truth wins RAW Tag Team Titles in 6-Pack Ladder Match
  • Rey Mysterio & Andrade def. Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio
  • Naomi, Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill def. Damage CTRL(Dakota Kai, Asuka & Kairi Sane)
  • Jey Uso def. Jimmy Uso
  • Sami Zayn def. Gunther to win the Intercontinental Championship
  • Roman Reigns & The Rock def. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins
  • Drew McIntyre def. Seth Rollins to win the World Heavyweight Championship
  • Damian Priest cashed in MITB contract and def. Drew McIntyre to win World Heavyweight Championship
  • Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits def. The Final Testament(Karrion Kross & AOP)
  • Logan Paul def. Randy Orton & Kevin Owens to retain U.S. Championship
  • LA Styles def. AJ Styles
  • Bayley vs. Io Sky to win WWE Women’s Championship
  • Cody Rhodes def. Roman Reigns to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

Favorite Matches

Rhea Ripley & Becky Lynch left it all in the ring for the Wrestlemania XL opener. Image courtesy of WWE.
  • Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch: Wrestlemania XL got off to a great start with a match that featured Mami & The Man. This was a physical affair with both women trading offense. Kudos to Becky Lynch who was battling strep throat while still being able to put on an opening event banger with The Eradicator. With Mami’s win, this solidified Rhea Ripley as the face of the women’s division.
  • Gunther vs. Sami Zayn: This is the one match that surprised me a little. I had predicted that Gunther’s historic reign would continue and for most of the match it looked as though that would be the case. Gunther bludgeoned Zayn for most of the match but Sami played the underdog story to perfection and ended the reign of the Ring General.
  • Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre: The subtle storytelling was the chef’s kiss with this match. Drew needling Seth for spreading himself too thin finally caught up to the Visionary as Drew gave Seth 4 Claymore’s to get the win. But Drew’s obsession with CM Punk would be his downfall as Punk made Drew pay for mocking him after winning the match. That gave Damian Priest the opportunity he needed to cash in his MITB contract & become the new World Heavyweight Champion
  • Io Sky vs. Bayley: Bayley’s Redemption Tour came full circle on Wrestlemania Sunday as she endured Io Sky’s best and righted all of her wrongs. The crowd was firmly in Bayley’s corner and cheered for her all throughout the match. It was a physical match that brought out the best in both women and the crowd erupted when Bayley gave Io the Rose Plant and picked up the win.
  • Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes: The match was under Bloodline Rules after The Tribal Chief & The Final Boss won on Wrestlemania Saturday. Reigns & Rhodes gave a helluva of a performance before the ridiculously fun hijinks started. Jimmy Uso interfered only for Jey Uso to take Jimmy out. Next was Solo Sikoa who stepped in help Roman beat down Cody only for John Cena to come and take out solo. Enter The Final Boss who dropped Cena with a Rock Bottom. Seth Rollins tried to make the save in his Shield gear but Roman caught him and blasted him with a chair. Just when it looked like all hope was lost the gong sounded, the Undertaker appeared and choked slammed The Final Boss to hell. Cody countered Roman’s attempt at a spear & dropped the Tribal Chief with 3 Cross Rhodes to get the win.

Representation Matters

The Big Three made their mark at Wrestlemania. Image courtesy of WWE.

Naomi, Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill got to have their Wrestlemania moment as the three women teamed up to take out Damage CTRL in their 6-Woman Tag Team match. The match felt significant not only because it was Jade Cargill’s Wrestlemania debut but because it was three incredibly talented black women getting a featured spot at the Show of Shows. I would have wanted the match to last a little longer for all 6 women to get their shine but The Big Three won nonetheless. Their entrance was absolutely iconic and their press conference interview gave black excellence.

I have a 7-year old daughter who beamed while watching Belair, Naomi & Cargill do their thing:

It was awesome seeing these incredible women represent for black women’s wrestlers all over the world. Yes, representation does indeed matter

Thank You Roman Reigns

The Tribal Chief & The Wise Man created magic together. Image courtesy of WWE.

While Cody Rhodes finished his story and captured the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship let’s not lose sight of the fact Roman Reigns & the Bloodline saga captivated fans for nearly 4 years. Ever since Roman Reigns came back in August 2020 during the Thunderdome era he became a different character. It was a much needed character change and it made Roman Reigns must see TV. The Tribal Chief was born and the Bloodline saga became cinema.

Roman’s 1316 day reign as the WWE Universal Champion will go down as the best reign of a generation and one of the greatest reigns in the history of the wrestling business. Through Reigns & WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman, the Usos became hotter than ever and Solo Sikoa became a main roster star. Through the Bloodline, Sami Zayn went from being a non-factor to main eventing Elimination Chamber in his home country and then main eventing Wrestlemania 39.

Roman Reigns lifted the WWE to new heights during his historic, dominating reign and that should be celebrated. Give Roman his flowers. He deserves every last one of them.

Final Thoughts

  • All throughout the weekend WWE made sure to emphasize that they are in a new era. The point was driven home by Paul Heyman when he declared that he would be a “Paul Levesque guy” for life during the Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday. Triple H opened Night 1 by declaring this to be a “new time and a new era” and it was cemented on Sunday when Stephanie McMahon came out to claim how WM40 was the proudest she felt because it was the full control of Triple H. It was a burial of Vince McMahon and the final, emphatic declaration that Triple H is now at the head of the table.
  • If Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes & The Rock were the ultimate stars then Seth Rollins was the glue that held it all together. Seth wound up being the MVP of the lead up to the Showcase of the Immortals and put his body on the line during the main event of Night 1 and Night 2 when he opened and helped close the show. While we’re giving flowers to people, make sure Seth Rollins gets all the praise that’s deserved. He made the World Heavyweight Championship a title of prestige.
  • The 6-Pack Ladder match for the Undisputed Tag Team titles was a fun car wreck as well as the Final Testament vs. Bobby Lashley/Street Profits Philly Street fight.
  • A stipulation would have aided the Jey Uso/Jimmy Uso match. While it was ok, the match underwhelmed.
  • The post match celebration of Cody Rhodes felt a tad forced. It didn’t have the organic feel of Daniel Bryan from Wrestlemania 30 or Kofi Kingston’s win at Wrestlemania 35. In both cases there was genuine emotion because fans had an emotional investment. While fans had an investment in Rhodes I felt the celebration that followed his win went a bit too long.
  • The big question now facing Cody Rhodes after finishing his story – now what. Fans enjoyed the chase to finish the story but what’s going to make Cody the true face of WWE is what he does next.

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ctaylorjr14

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