Well I'm a few days late, but here's my review of WWE WrestleMania 41.
The sixth two-night edition of the Showcase of the Immortals was a very mixed bag, with a couple strong standouts, some really disappointing outings, and a whole lot of middling filler. As usual the actual wrestling content took up less than half of each show's running time and the gaps in between each match were longer than the respective match that followed. I really don't understand why WWE fans are okay with this; do you need a 15-20 minute piss break in between every bout?
A few words about the venue - Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is a great place to host a WrestleMania show. The translucent roof harkens back to the unique presentation of WrestleMania III. I always like when these shows start out during daylight and end at night. Creates a special atmosphere.
Anyway, night 1 started off with a match by which I was pleasantly surprised. Gunther and Jey Uso delivered a solid opener (It's still hilarious to me that we're back to the Royal Rumble winner OPENING WrestleMania instead of headlining it) that proved if nothing else that Jey is capable of good singles in-ring work with the right opponent. Jey's hit-and-move strategy frustrated the Austrian grappler and after some finisher kickouts, Jey hit three top-rope splashes and put Gunther away with his own choke, to which the champion tapped almost immediately. The decisiveness of that finish certainly surprised me. Good start to the show. ***3/4
Next was a free TV-quality tag title match pitting The War Raiders against The New Day. These two teams only got about nine minutes and did some innovative spots, like Erik body slamming Ivar from the apron on top of their opponents. Not much heat for this match at all though. The New Day won with UpUpDownDown, assisted by Xavier holding Ivar's leg down a la Bobby Heenan and the Ultimate Warrior. This was fine but nothing more. **1/2
Another mediocre affair pitted Jade Cargill vs. Naomi, in Jade's first major singles match in WWE. And true to form she executed moves fine but often looked lost, clearly being led through the match by her more experienced opponent. Having Jade sell for much of the match was certainly a choice. Cargill countered a Rings of Saturn and turned it into a powerbomb, followed by Jaded for the win. *3/4
The next pleasant surprise was the US Title match with LA Knight defending against Jacob Fatu. This match wasn't amazing or anything but Fatu is proving himself a helluva hand in the ring. Things started out slow but picked up once Fatu took over with his crisp offense. He put Knight away with a couple sentons followed by the BME. ***1/4
A pretty baffling outing on this show was El Grande Americano (Chad Gable) vs. Rey Fenix, subbing for an injured Rey Mysterio. Why Dragon Lee didn't get this spot considering he was already involved in the feud and Fenix was originally on the opposite show, I'm sure I dunno. Also I'm not sure why you'd book Fenix to lose this early in his WWE run. These two worked pretty well together but didn't get much time and there wasn't a whole lot of heat. Late in the match Gable stuffed a metal plate into his mask and they used that cleverly. Fenix did a run across the ropes and a kick to the head but the plate hurt his foot. Fenix dove off the top rope but Gable headbutted him, then finished him off with a Dynamite Kid-style headbutt off the top rope. Not a great start to Rey Fenix's WWE run but maybe he'll get his win back later? **3/4
One of the more intriguing matches of the weekend was in the semi-main slot, as real-life enemies Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton fought for the WWE Women's Title. As I said in my preview I was hoping for either a classic or a trainwreck, and unfortunately this match didn't really fall into either category. They started out working pretty well together and Charlotte got a fuckton of crowd heat, but things started to fall apart in the second half with numerous miscues and sloppy spots. Not enough to make the match ironically very entertaining though, and at nineteen minutes this dragged. Charlotte worked over the knee and eventually got the Figure Four but Tiffany escaped and hit a BME for the win (the first of three times that multiple matches this weekend had the same finish). Charlotte vs. Rhea this was most definitely not. **3/4
The main event (because "reasons") was CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, and while a really good match, this suffered significantly for me due to WWE's insistence on shoving "cinema" into every orifice. The drama over who Paul Heyman was going to help out was an unnecessary distraction from the actual match, as though Heyman's ever been a proven asset on the outside of the ring. At one point while Punk was down on the floor, Seth implored Roman to team up and take him out, so they could concentrate on fighting each other, and they booked this so Roman was almost in tears trying to decide what to do. Umm, how about you team up to take Punk out and fight each other? What's the big fuckin' drama? They went to Shield powerbomb Punk through the announce table but Roman double crossed Seth instead, and then powerbombed Punk. Uhh, ok. Late in the match after all three guys used their finishers on each other and everyone was down, Heyman grabbed a chair and they teased him helping either Punk or Roman. Ultimately he slid the chair to Punk, Roman was all upset, and then Heyman slid into the ring to stand behind Punk, telegraphing the big swerve like crazy. As Punk went to hit Roman with the chair Heyman low blowed him. Then he yelled at Roman to take out Seth, telegraphing the next swerve. As Roman went to hit Seth with the chair Heyman low blowed him. Seth hit Roman with the chair and the Stomp for the win. Very good match overall but easily five minutes too long and the overacting from Roman and Heyman was overlong and ridiculous. Subtlety goes a long way. Heyman and Seth have started a new stable which now includes Bron Breakker, so that's promising at least. Side note: whoever chose the color for Roman Reigns' veneers needs psychiatric help. Literally no one has real teeth that color. Remember that Friends episode where Ross gets his teeth whitened and they're so bright they glow in the dark? Fuckin' hell, Joe.... ****1/4
So night 1 was basically a two-match card, with the opener and closer delivering well but everything in the middle being, well, middling. Punk-Seth-Roman will land in the top third of WrestleMania main events I think, but WWE's commitment to bad "cinema" once again got in the way of the wrestling.
Best Match: Punk-Seth-Roman
Worst Match: Jade-Naomi
What I'd Change: Trim the main event, tone down the over-the-top drama, and for god's sake stop stretching a sub-three-hour PPV to almost four hours.
Most Disappointing Match: Tiffany vs. Charlotte
Most Pleasant Surprise: Gunther vs. Jey Uso
Overall Rating: 7/10
Night two started out so very promising, to the point that three matches in I was ready to welcome a show on par with WM39 Night 1. And then it fell off the rails and never fully recovered. The main story coming out of this show harkened back to the dreary days of the late Vince McMahon era, with nonsensical booking and character motivation, and just plain bad wrestling. But we'll get to that.
This card started off with the highlight of the entire 'Mania weekend, a stunningly great women's 3-way for the Women's World Championship. Iyo Sky defended against Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair, and these three put together a match very out of character for a major WWE event. This was crisp, creative, action-packed, and hammered home the idea that Iyo was being overlooked by both her opponents. I'm still baffled that Rhea vs. Bianca wasn't the match here as it easily could've headlined one of these shows, but maybe that will happen next year. Anyway, the goal in adding Iyo was obviously to deliver an all-timer, and it succeeded there; this was maybe the best women's match in WrestleMania history and has to be considered one of WWE's best women's matches full-stop. Lots of creative triple threat spots, nearfalls, and finishers. Rhea went for Riptide on Bianca but Bianca escaped, whipped Rhea with her braid, and hit the KOD, but out of nowhere came Iyo with a moonsault to both break up the pin and to put away Bianca. Great, great match. *****
The second match of the night was very good as well, with Drew McIntyre facing Damian Priest in a street fight. This started off a bit rushed, with tables being introduced only a few minutes in, but they built to a good peak. Drew set up two tables on the outside and they left enough time before the payoff that everyone sorta forgot they were there. Finally in the closing minutes Priest went for the Undertaker's Old School move but Drew shoved him off the ropes through the tables. Drew brought him back in and put Priest's head against a chair wedged in the turnbuckles, and hit a Claymore to win the match. Very good stuff. ***3/4
The streak of good matches hit three as the four-way Intercontinental Title match delivered big. Like the opener this was full of crazy action and creative spots. Bron Breakker shined as usual and this company needs to push him as a main eventer as soon as possible. Kid's got it. Penta got some good moments to shine, and Dominik and Finn continued their story of falling apart as allies. Carlito got involved from the outside but Bron speared him from one announce table through the other. Like the opener this match ended with one wrestler (Balor) giving another wrestler (Bron) his finisher only for a third wrestler (Dominik) to come off the top rope and hit his own finish (a Frog Splash) for the win. Apparently the producers didn't talk to each other on either night. Anyway this was a really fun match and the crowd were super excited to see Dom win the belt. ****
Aaaaand then this show took a turn into Suckville and never came back. The fourth match, meant to be Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens (a match that surely would've delivered) was derailed by Owens' neck injury and thus it became an open challenge. Rather than have Orton face one of the two returning stars in Rusev or Aleister Black, they went with the current TNA Champion Joe Hendry, and had Orton beat him decisively in three minutes. Flashbacks of Triple H vs. Taz from 2000 popped in my head as the company once again made their smaller affiliate look third-rate. Worse, after Orton dispatched Joe with an RKO, he helped Joe to his feet, raised Joe's arm and then hit another RKO to hammer the point that the TNA Champion is vastly inferior. Anyone who thought WWE's motives in partnering with TNA were anything but predatory should start paying attention. This is what WWE does. AAA stars beware, WWE is going to make you all look like chumps every chance they get. *1/2
Arguably the most disappointing match of either night was AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul, a match that got 17 minutes but lacked all urgency. Logan Paul no longer comes off as a special attraction, he's just one of the guys now. And AJ Styles can still play the notes but not the music. He did all of his signature stuff but there was no drama to any of it. He's a far cry from the wizard who took WWE by storm in 2016 and 2017. How do you have a better WrestleMania match with Shane McMahon than with Logan Paul? Late in the match some friend of Logan's got involved and tried to hand him brass knux, but Karrion Kross showed up, took the knux away and gave them to AJ, who refused to use them (Why does every wrestling booker love to make babyfaces look like losers for choosing NOT to cheat?). Logan evaded the Phenomenal Forearm and hit his Paulverizer finisher for the win. Very forgettable considering the talent involved. ***
So Night 1 had an actual semi-main event, while Night 2 had a buffer match in the death spot. In this case it was Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defending the Women's Tag belts against Lyra Valkyria and a mystery partner (subbing for a kayfabe injured Bayley, who must've been just THRILLED to have her WrestleMania match pulled). The new partner of course turned out to be Becky Lynch, who got a big pop. This match was a nothing-happening affair though, and got just under nine minutes. Becky finished Liv with a Manhandle Slam to win the belts. The next night in the RAW rematch Becky turned heel (because that worked out so well last time) and cost her team the belts. So this was pointless. **
Now for the big main event of the whole weekend. The long-awaited Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena WWE Title match. The match that started out as babyface vs. legend babyface and should've stayed that way. Instead The Rock got involved a month ago, convinced John Cena to turn heel and attack Cody (even though Cena earned his title shot without turning heel), and then removed himself from the story entirely, skipping the entire build for the match and being conspicuously absent from WrestleMania. Both guys got booed during their entrances and introductions as a result. This match was a plodding, incredibly dull affair with Cena controlling a lot of it and looking like a tired old man barely able to execute his signature offense. Cody made a comeback and the two traded big moves and finisher kickouts. Then came the trainwreck ending. After a ref bump, Travis Scott sauntered down to the ring, slow as fuck, without any urgency whatsoever, and hugged Cena before the two men tried to team up on Cody. Cody escaped, hit CrossRhodes, and Scott yanked the ref out of the ring. Cody then gave Scott a CrossRhodes as well to remove him from the match. Cena grabbed the title belt, Cody took it away, and Cena goaded him into using it. But Cody hesitated like an idiot, Cena kicked him in the nuts, and hit him with the belt and pinned him to win the title. So after the big betrayal and beatdown last month Cody couldn't justify hitting Cena with the belt Cena brought into the ring? Really? Jesus did this make Cody look like a goober. One of the worst WrestleMania main events of the last fifteen years. And now we're stuck with a champion who can't go nearly at the level he used to, against probably his most played-out opponent in Randy Orton. Cena vs. Orton, in 2025. Christ almighty. *3/4
Sooo yeah, Night 2 was on its way to being a near-classic show and instead fell right the fuck off a cliff. If nothing else it's satisfying to watch so many WWE glazers turning on the product and Triple H's booking. I'm here for that part.
Best Match: Iyo-Rhea-Bianca. Incredible opener.
Worst Match: Orton vs. Hendry, but the main event was right behind it.
What I'd Change: Cena never should've turned heel. The crowd wanted to see a title change, Cena's character since turning hasn't been at all convincing, and this match would've been better as the retiring legend getting one last hurrah before dropping the title back to Cody at SummerSlam. Instead you've got this muddied up heel turn hovering over the whole proceeding and robbing the match of its energy.
Most Disappointing Match: AJ vs. Logan
Most Pleasant Surprise: The opener exceeded my already high expectations
Overall Rating: 7/10, all of it for the first three matches. Turn the show off after that.
WWE is apparently back to delivering passable WrestleManias with clusterfuck main events, after two very strong editions in 2023 and 2024. If you took the good matches from each night you could assemble one great three-hour show. If you took the mediocre and bad matches you could assemble a three-plus-hour dumpster fire.
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