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WWE returns to Hollywood for Night Two of WrestleMania. Night One was full of twists and turns and delivered on cylinders. If Night Two could put up half of the performance Night One did, it would go down in history as one of the best manias ever. So how did they match up?
Omos vs. Brock Lesnar:
Brock Lesnar: the most dominant superstar in WWE history, the Alpha Male of our species. Omos: the 7-foot-3-inch Nigeria Giant. A match for the ages. Omos seemed unbeatable, but the one person who might be able to slay the giant is Lesnar.
The match began with Lesnar trying to gain the upper hand but it soon turned into Omos’ favor. Omos’ ragdolled Lesnar like no one has before. It was all going Omos’ way until Omos missed a big splash into the corner leading to three German suplexes to the giant, followed by an F-5 by Lesnar for the win.
The Beast Incarnate is one of the only people who could believably beat Omos. Lesnar needed this win after losing his past rivalries against Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley. He is always a draw and always seems like the biggest threat in WWE history.
However, I cannot give a five-minute match that high of a rating. It was also predictable that the match would start with Omos in control and then Lesnar would hit a few suplexes and an F-5. It was a classic Lesnar match but not anything special.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 (can’t give a 5 minute match that high of a rating and it was predictable)
WrestleMania Women’s Showcase: Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan vs. Natalya and Shotzi, Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville vs. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler:
Similarly to the men’s match, all eight women have worked hard the whole year to get to this moment and it’s great to see them all here. You also can’t have WrestleMania without Ronda Rousey.
This was a fast-paced, entertaining match. Lots of high flying. A notable bump in the match was when Rodriguez powerbombed her partner, Morgan, outside the ring into the rest of the opponents. Natalya and Shotzi hit a Hart attack and then Natalya locked in a double sharpshooter on Green and Deville. Rodriquez used her size and strength advantage the whole match. The match came to an end when Rousey tagged in and locked in an arm bar on Shotzi.
It was another very fun match. It was very similar to last night’s showcase match, although last night was probably a little better. It came to a disappointing ending since Rousey only entered the match once and got the win. It was good to see the likes of Morgan, Rodriguez, Green and Baszler on the card, though, after the year they have had.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Gunther (C) vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre for the Intercontinental Championship:
Six months ago, Sheamus and Gunther had a match of the year candidate fight at Clash at the Castle. They have a lot of history and animosity towards each other, but every time Gunther and Sheamus step in the ring with each other, they have a banger match. With the addition of McIntyre, this was sure to be one of the hardest hitting matches in WrestleMania history. The two best friends will have to put everything aside in order to beat the unstoppable Gunther.
Right out of the gate, each man started throwing hard strikes. Gunther did his classic chops to both and it looked like he was caving in their chests. McIntyre had a great looking belly-to-belly to throw Sheamus into Gunther. Sheamus went deep into his arsenal with a celtic cross, but Gunther still kicked out. Sheamus almost won with a brogue kick but his longtime best friend, McIntyre, broke up the pin. McIntyre and Sheamus both kicked out of each other’s finishes back to back. Sheamus hit a final brogue kick and pinned McIntyre, but Gunther broke it up with a top rope splash on both. Gunther followed that and ended the match by powerbombing Sheamus on McIntyre and then powerbombing McIntyre.
This was not a match, this was a fight. Total brutality. The foreigners put on a stellar performance and destroyed each other. The fans were fully behind Sheamus and were really pulling for him to win. Alas, the celtic warrior was unable to win the one title that has eluded his whole career. Gunther is having the run of a lifetime, and, if it continues, he will go down as one of the best intercontinental champions ever. He has brought honor and respect back to the title.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5
Bianca Belair (C) vs. Asuka for the Raw Women’s Championship:
Two of the best women on the roster set out to prove who the best wrestler on Raw is. It is hard to bet against Belair who has proven she is one of the best in the world the last few years. However, Asuka is a veteran and no one knows what to expect out of her new persona. It may have been Asuka’s time, so was Belair ready for Asuka?
Belair took control right away, but Asuka came back with some hard strikes. The empress of tomorrow was able to turn nearly everything Belair threw at her into a submission maneuver. Belair landed a devastating gutwrench powerbomb on the outside and Belair was also able to lift Asuka over the ropes to hit a superplex. Toward the end, Asuka sprayed the blue mist while the ref was distracted, but Belair ducked it. The ending sequence was Asuka trapping Belair in an arm bar on the ground, but Belair was somehow able to lift up Asuka into a KOD to silence her.
Pound for pound, Belair might be one of the strongest superstars, man or woman, and is definitely the most athletic. These two had great chemistry together and should work with each other more often. Belair has now been Raw women’s champion for a year and this was her third year in a row winning at WrestleMania in a title match. It’s a shame though to see that Asuka still was not able to win the big one and remains winless at WrestleMania after competing at four of them.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
Impromptu Match: The Miz vs. Shane McMahon
Snoop Dogg pulled another fast one on The Miz by having the prodigal son return to take on The Miz. Unfortunately, McMahon injured his leg about 30 seconds into the match. Luckily Snoop Dogg improvised and knocked out The Miz with a haymaker right hand and delivered his own version of the people’s elbow, pinning him for the three count afterwards.
Rating: 5 out of 5 Doggs
Edge vs. “The Demon” Finn Bálor of The Judgment Day inside Hell in a Cell:
For the first time in seven years, Hell in a Cell returned to WrestleMania. This was not the only thing to return in this match as Bálor donned his demon war paint for the first time since September 2021. After nearly a year of Bálor and The Judgment Day tormenting Edge’s life, the only way for this to end is inside the most dangerous structure in WWE. Edge is a veteran inside the cell but “The Demon” is like nothing WWE has ever seen and this could have gone south for Edge very quickly.
Edge came to the ring channeling his history with the brood, rising through the ramp surrounded by fire. Bálor immediately used a kendo stick and the cell walls to his advantage. Edge trapped Bálor in the cell with kendo sticks and delivered a diving drop kick. Balor followed up by delivering a devastating shotgun drop kick to put Edge through a table propped against the cell. Edge threw a ladder at Bálor whose head bounced hard off it. This busted Bálor open. The two men climbed to the top of the ladder and Edge dove off with an impaler DDT on Bálor. Bálor set Edge up on a table and tried to hit Edge like a dagger with a coup de grâce off the cell wall, but Edge rolled off the table causing Bálor to crash through the table. Edge followed up with a big spear but “The Demon” still got up. To finally slay “The Demon,” Edge had to go to a dark place and nail Bálor with a con-chair-toe.
This was the brawl we expected out of these two. Bálor never disappoints, especially as “The Demon” and Edge is synonymous with Hell in a Cell. After nearly a year of The Judgment Day getting the better of Edge, he finally ended their story. The only thing is this could have been given more time. Also, this is the second loss in a row for “The Demon” and if WWE keeps bringing him back to lose, it will delegitimize him.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Main Event: Roman Reigns (C) with Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa of The Bloodline vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship:
For the royal match winner, Cody Rhodes, this match meant everything. He needed to win this for his family and his legacy. He needed to finish the story and win the championship his late father, Dusty Rhodes, never could. However, Reigns is the most dominant champion in WWE history and this was set to be his seventh WrestleMania main event match and his third championship match at a mania in a row. But for the first time in a long time, it seemed like The Tribal Chief can be beat. Was the American Nightmare able to dethrone the Head of the Table at the grandest stage of them all?
The match began with each man staring daggers at each other and a face off. Reigns started slow and methodical just as he likes it. Reigns looked to powerbomb Rhodes through the announcer’s table, but Rhodes countered and put Reigns through the announcer’s table himself. Rhodes gained control, but Sikoa whipped Rhodes with the weight belt. The ref saw something was up and ejected Sikoa. Reigns tried to use the belt ,but ate a super kick and a cross Rhodes from Rhodes, but Reigns kicked out at two. Rhodes countered a Superman punch into a pedigree but still somehow Reigns kicked out.
A disaster kick led to disaster because Reigns countered with a Superman punch. Rhodes jumped off the top rope, but Reigns dodged and Rhodes ran into a spear. The ref went down while Rhodes hit a cross Rhodes, allowing the Usos to intervene and hit a double superkick and 1D on Rhodes. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn ran in and took out the Usos. Owens and Zayn hit Reigns with a Stunner and Helluva kick, but he refused to lose and kicked out. Rhodes paid homage to his father and hit a bionic elbow and two cross Rhodes. Rhodes was going for a third cross Rhodes, but Heyman distracted the ref, allowing Sikoa to run back in and nail Rhodes with a Samoan spike. Reigns finished the main event match with a spear to win.
For the third year in a row the WWE and fans are forced to acknowledge The Tribal Chief. This match delivered on all expectations and was a great main event. The 945-day title reign will continue and it looks like he will surely hit 1,000 days as champion. The crowd was hot and loud for Rhodes who had by far the loudest crowd reactions of the night, if not the whole weekend. It was a big heart breaker to see him lose. There are only two critiques to this match: ending the main event of WrestleMania from interference is not a great go-home angle and sending the fans home unhappy for the third year in a row is not a perfect decision. It is now even more unclear who can possibly beat Reigns, but, when Reigns is finally overthrown, it will go down as one of the biggest moments in wrestling history.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
That’s it for WrestleMania 39. The showcase of the immortals lived up to its name and delivered a phenomenal show. Night Two was a fantastic show, but Night One was slightly better. All around, though, it was a great show for the first WrestleMania under Triple H.
