A few weeks after Monday Night Raw was in Anaheim, WWE returned to the Southern California region for one of its live shows. The company hosted a Road to WrestleMania live event in Palm Springs at the Acrisure Arena on Saturday, March 2.
Yes, I drove the two hours to attend, and, yes, it was worth it. The night was full of fun, entertaining matches and a chance for me to get my Cody Rhodes belt signed.
Let’s take a look at some of the best matches from the live event.
LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa (WWE Road to WrestleMania, March 2)
LA Knight opening the show was the perfect pop the crowd needed to get the night started. The megastar faced Solo Sikoa in a good match that had a lot of buildup. There were moments when Knight was unable to lift Sikoa due to fatigue and the size difference, but once he finally did, the crowd went wild.
Jimmy Uso, Sikoa’s Bloodline cousin, was out at ringside and often interfered in the match, which led to the ref ejecting him. Thankfully, once Jimmy was gone, Knight could really shine and end the match with his BFT finisher. After his victory, he cut a promo and had the whole arena saying, “Yeah.”
Jey Uso vs. Gunther (WWE Road to WrestleMania, March 2)
While this match was a repeat of their matchup on Monday Night Raw in Anaheim a few weeks ago, it was still a great match to watch live. Jey Uso and Gunther have great chemistry and bring out the best in each other every time they face off. While Gunther won, just as he did at Monday Night Raw, there was no Bloodline interference this time around.
The best part of these matches is how Jey sells the chest chops Gunther delivers — they look as brutal as they sound. It’s cool to see him take that punishment, then eventually reverse and come back with his own offense. At one point, Jey jumped off the top rope and landed on his feet to avoid Gunther, but Gunther was ready with a running kick that resembled Drew McIntyre’s Claymore. Jey even hit some spears, but they weren’t enough to put away Gunther, who got the victory with a huge slam.
Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre (WWE Road to WrestleMania, March 2)
The show ended with Cody Rhodes vs Drew McIntyre in a street fight. These two have been going at it the past few weeks and also have built great chemistry with each other. With this being a street fight, the wrestlers used kendo sticks, chairs and tables. The tables were not cooperating that much and didn’t break like they usually do, so multiple tables had to be used.
That’s the great thing about wrestlers — they’re always ready to improvise, whether on the mic or in the ring. Rhodes suplexed McIntyre into a table, which didn’t break; then followed it up with a dive off the top rope on top of McIntyre. That finally broke the table and won Rhodes the match. He gave a promo after the match and thanked everyone for attending.
A solid night ended on an even higher note when Rhodes began giving out pieces of the broken tables from the Street Fight match. Then, he stayed 30 minutes after the match ended to sign autographs and take pictures. I was fortunate enough to get my white Cody Rhodes belt signed and a picture with the superstar. It was truly a surreal moment, as I hadn’t met him before. There was still no Seth Rollins or Liv Morgan (two of my other favorites), but meeting Rhodes made my night.
“Sports Entertainment Solidified” is a pro wrestling column by Maddy Myer that runs every Monday.