100 Words on Every Match from WrestleMania Weekend (+Monday Night Raw)

WrestleMania weekend is one of the biggest in professional wrestling. Many companies will schedule big events to counter the popularity of the event, but WWE's biggest weekend of the year is almost unparalleled. I'd argue that NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom shows are the only thing that truly rival it. For the last four years, NXT's Stand & Deliver has preceded WrestleMania, though this would be the third year in a row that it happened on the same day as Night 1. In honor of the event, I've decided to give my thoughts on every match across the two days, as well as my thoughts on the Raw After WrestleMania, one of my favorite weekly shows of the year.  

NXT Stand & Deliver

Shawn Spears vs. Joe Gacy

What's the point of having a pre-match "attack" if the guy who gets attacked doesn't show any ill effects from said attack during his match? Additionally, what's the point of bringing back Spears if this is how he's going to be used? I like Gacy and feel like he has been given a raw deal lately. No one seems to stick around with him for long. This match wasn't that memorable, and I didn't think the right man won. I guess they were trying to tease an allegiance between Spears and Holland. This just wasn't it, wasting both men's talent.

Wolf Dogs (C) vs. Nathan Frazier & Axoim- NXT Tag Team Championships

That two teams with such differences in styles can put on a fun match like this is what makes me appreciative of professional wrestling. Frazier and Axiom took it to the champions with a lot of fast-paced and high-flying moves, putting Breakker and Corbin on their heels. I think Breakker might have the best spear in the business. The one he delivered to Frazier looked like it hurt. I'm a little surprised the champions retained with Breakker doing double duty, but I'm not upset about it. He's only scratching the surface of how great he'll be on the main roster. 

Oba Femi (C) vs. Dijak vs. Josh Briggs- Triple Threat for the NXT North American Championship

The crowd was scorching hot for these three big guys, and for good reason. All three put in the work to provide one of the better matches on the card. Dijak was the most impressive of the three, giving a star-making performance in the loss. Femi was constantly being teamed up against, yet still came out of it looking like a monster. Even Briggs, whom I was the least familiar with, had some moments to shine. I think Dijak is going to be the man to dethrone Femi, but his reign has been a pleasant surprise after a shocking start. 

Thea Hail, Fallon Henley, & Kelani Jordan vs. Jacy Jayne, Kiana James, & Izzi Dame

While this easily could've been a one-on-one match between Hail and Jayne, it was nice to get a showcase match for the future of the NXT Women's Division. While Jayne, James, and Jordan all had great chances to shine during the action, Hail was the one wrestler everyone paid to see. She's going to be the NXT Women's Champion very soon. She is the most interesting character in the division and maybe all of NXT. One thing to keep an eye on is the reaction after the match from Henley, who looked almost dejected while being ignored during the celebration.

Lyra Valkyria (C) vs. Roxanne Perez- NXT Women's Championship

As much as we might not like to admit it, Valkyria's reign peaked when she won the title from Lynch. After that, she hasn't been the biggest story in the division. It has always been Perez. Even before her character change, Perez was the best performer in the women's locker room. Despite being the heel of the match, the fans wanted badly to see her win the title again. She targeted the injured shoulder, beat down the champion, and became the third woman in NXT history to win the title twice. Perez is the future of women's wrestling in WWE. 

Ilja Dragunov (C) vs. Tony D'Angelo- NXT Championship

I appreciate it when a company can pull off a "face vs. face" match for a title. I think NXT did it beautifully here. It's nice that we didn't need a mid-match turn to do it, either. The video package beforehand, highlighting the weeks of build-up, showcased that well. The action in the ring lived up to a title fight. D'Angelo refused to use underhanded tactics to win the match, which might've been his downfall. The H-bombs through the table and from the top rope were cool. There's only one man who is going to beat Dragunov for the title. 

Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams

NXT has seen its fair share of incredible matches between partners turned bitter enemies. Gargano vs. Ciampa is the blueprint. Despite being NXT's biggest rivalry at the moment, this match didn't have the same intensity that I was hoping for in a battle of this magnitude. It was good, not great. I was skeptical of Williams early on in his pairing with Hayes. I'm certain he's the next NXT champion. These two will have at least one more meeting. The next time needs to be in some variety of a No DQ match. They deserve that type of payoff.

Final Thoughts

To say that Stand & Deliver was the weakest card of the weekend speaks more to how great WrestleMania XL was. Still, NXT always seems to deliver during its big events, and Saturday was no exception. The only title that changed hands was the only one that really needed to. Roxanne Perez's win was probably the biggest highlight of the show. The triple threat for the North American title and the fast-paced battle for the NXT Tag Team titles were also very strong matches. Dragunov and D'Angelo told a narratively sound story. The six-woman tag match showcased the future of the division. The only match on the card that seemed out of place was the pre-show match. The main event didn't deliver as well as I would've hoped, but it was still good to see Trick Williams get some revenge. My hope for Battleground is that Williams will get another shot at Dragunov for the NXT title, finally getting his crowning moment.

WrestleMania XL: Night One

Rhea Ripley (C) vs. Becky Lynch- Women's World Championship

Honestly, I had no clue that Lynch had been sick with strep throat this week. It certainly didn't come out in her performance. She and Ripley are magnificent together, putting on a solid opening match. Ripley continues to look like an unstoppable force, moving her reign to over a year. Lynch didn't need to win the match. She's already one of the best ever, so having Ripley win is the correct decision. I'll be interested to see who is going to be the one to dethrone the champion because there aren't many who are in a position to do so.

Judgement Day (C) vs. A-Town Down Under vs. Awesome Truth vs. #DIY vs. New Catch Republic vs. New Day- Six-Pack Ladder Match for the Unified Tag Team Championships

Like almost every multi-man or multi-team ladder match, this was a spot fest, and, man, were there a lot of high-danger spots. Waller and Theory won the Smackdown title, but Waller was put through a ladder afterward. Gargano and Dunne took a trip through a table in a cool spot. McDonagh was thrown from a ladder through a table on the outside. The big story is R-Truth finally getting his WrestleMania moment, climbing the ladder to retrieve the Raw titles. It was half of the result that we all wanted, but it clears Priest to possibly cash in this weekend. 

Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio vs. Andrade & Rey Mysterio

There were a lot of people outside of the ring for this tag match, which felt like a war between Latino factions, with the younger Mysterio added. The story between Mysterio and Escobar has been a slow burn, and I think this match was actually pretty good. The spot with Wilde getting some help to fly from the middle rope was cool. As good as the talent in the ring was, people are going to remember a pair of Eagles showing up at the end to help the good guys get the win. I'm not above getting a cheap pop.

Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso

As invested as I have been in the Uso Civil War, this is the match from the night that I felt under-delivered. If I had a dollar for every superkick that was performed during this match, I'd be a happy guy. It had emotional moments, especially from Jimmy, but they don't make up for the fact that this was my least favorite match of the night. I've seen people take exception with Jey winning, but I thought it made sense narratively. For all of the opportunities that Jimmy has cost him, it felt appropriate for the younger brother to win.

Naomi, Jade Cargill, & Bianca Belair vs. Damage Control

This was the most predictable result of the night, but the road to get there was fun despite having the least amount of time on the night's card. It was the only match to go less than ten minutes, but the winning trio got their moments to shine. As painful as some moves look, I don't think anything sounds worse to take than a whip from Belair's hair. Having seen Cargill in AEW, she has improved a lot in the ring since making her debut. She's going to be a serious force in the women's division for a long time. 

Gunther (C) vs. Sami Zayn- Intercontinental Championship

Once Zayn won the title, the result of the main event was crystal clear. Zayn gets his second WrestleMania moment in a row by slaying Goliath. This was a classic case of a champion being too cocky for his own good. It's nothing new, but it still hit all of the great points. Gunther had the greatest IC Title reign of all time, so now he gets to go on to bigger things. I officially want to begin the campaign to have Gunther win the Money in the Bank briefcase. He's going to be an incredible world champion one day.

Roman Reigns & The Rock vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins

It was a typical Bloodline match, with a ton of mischief and chicanery. At 44:31, maybe it went a little too long. However, it delivered the goods in every way imaginable. Narratively, it tells so much more of a story than the actual action did. The Rock showed he still had it. Reigns took his fair share of punishment. Ultimately, this set up two interesting stories for Night Two. Rollins is beaten up, while Rhodes is outnumbered. Having Rhodes be pinned by The Rock was an interesting choice, though it made it feel like Rhodes was beating Reigns on Sunday.

WrestleMania XL: Night Two

Seth Rollins (C) vs. Drew McIntyre- World Heavyweight Championship

This match going on first made it feel like it was almost certain to lead to a title change. We nearly got a Sheamus-Bryan finish with the early Claymore spot, but it would ultimately take four Claymores to put Rollins down for good. CM Punk being on commentary added to the intrigue, and once McIntyre won, the longer he stayed out to gloat made it seem like Damien Priest wasn't far behind. Punk attacks Drew, Priest comes out, and Priest leaves WrestleMania with the title. While Punk-McIntyre is imminent, the real debate will be who Priest's first challenger will be.

Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits vs. The Final Testament- Philadelphia Street Fight

This was Sunday's version of a multi-man free-for-all, featuring Snoop Dogg on commentary and Bubba Ray Dudley as the special guest referee. This is a lower-card feud between six men who are in a perpetual state of nothingness. This made The Final Testament look incredibly bad, and not in a good way, but in a lame and career-worsening way. It was cool to see Dudley pull out all of the stops, and the accidental broken table spot was a little funny. Of the weekend's 13 matches, this was the most unneeded and pointless, outside of the appearances from the stars. 

AJ Styles vs. LA Knight

The only straight-up, singles, non-title match of the night featured two of the best in the company. This didn't need any stakes to be good. It was a fun back-and-forth bout. Knight is still as over as ever, while Styles remains one of the best in-ring performers in WWE. He also debuted some new entrance music, shelving one of the better entrance songs. Much like with the Usos match on Night One, This is the most conflicted I've felt about a winner because either has a strong case for why they should've won. I won't complain about a Knight victory.

Logan Paul (C) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens- Triple Threat for the United States Championship

Regardless of your opinion of Paul as a person or as a personality, his abilities in the ring are unbelievable for someone new to the business. Even when he's in the ring with seasoned veterans like Owens and Orton, he holds his own. Paul's opponents worked together to start the match and provided some excellent comedic notes. This was the right outcome. It was right less for the story of the United States title and more for what was to come later in the night. Had Paul lost, one of the next two matches likely would have ended very differently.

IYO SKY (C) vs. Bayley- WWE Women's Championship

Outside of the main event for the night, this was one of the hottest stories coming into WrestleMania. For the first time in over two years, Bayley has won a singles title. I can't believe this was her first singles match at the event, considering how long she has been on the main roster. It started slowly, with a few tiny slip-ups, but the former stablemates started picking up steam near the end. There were a few creative counters, but the moment when Bayley won was one of the loudest pops of the weekend. This result felt inevitable, yet it didn't take away from the story at all.

Roman Reigns (C) vs. Cody Rhodes- Bloodline Rules for the Undisputed WWE Championship 

If you're going to end a 1300+-day title reign, it should be this chaotic. In a Reigns match, it's not about whether there will be interference but when there will be. To my surprise, it took 21 minutes for the Usos to come out and start going at it. Add Solo Sikoa, John Cena, Seth Rollins, The Rock, and the Undertaker to the mix, and you get ten minutes of chaos. When Rhodes finally got the three-count, there was so much time left on the broadcast that I thought something was going to happen. Instead, Rhodes really completed his story.

Final Thoughts

Of the 13 matches across the two nights of WrestleMania, there might've been one or two matches that didn't live up to the hype. Otherwise, this was a nearly flawless card. It was very clear from the beginning that this show represented a changing of the guard. Six of the eight titles defended on the show changed hands, with only the Women's World title and the US title staying put. We saw the tag titles split back to their respective brands, while the World Heavyweight Championship changed hands twice in just a few minutes. Both Royal Rumble winners completed their quests. Sami Zayn ended the longest IC title reign of all time. R-Truth got his WrestleMania moment. Jade Cargill showed out in her WrestleMania debut. There were some fun cameos. The show's legacy will ultimately be tied to the final moments of Cody Rhodes' win over Roman Reigns to end his 1300+-day reign. I know some were upset about Stone Cold not showing up, but I don't think you can have WrestleMania without The Undertaker, who was equally as important to the career of The Rock as Stone Cold was. The pop when he got the three-count is one of the loudest I've ever heard. I won't go so far as to say it's the greatest WrestleMania of all time, but it's going to forever shape the future of WWE.

Raw After WrestleMania Thoughts

While I always look forward to WrestleMania, the night after is always a favorite, too. It almost always promises to be a night of debuts, surprises, and shocking moments. My brain always jumps to Dolph Ziggler's cash-in, Brock Lesnar's return, and some of the more memorable NXT call-ups. This year, it was far more tame than in years past. We did get to see Ilja Dragunov and Roxanne Perez make their main roster debuts, picking up wins over Shinsuke Nakamura and Indi Hartwell, respectively. We saw a good segment with The Judgement Day and R-Truth, leading to Awesome Truth going 2-on-3 before John Cena came in to help them beat the faction. The big moments were the 45-minute opening segment with The Rock giving one of the most awkward promos I can remember from a usually good talker and CM Punk costing Drew McIntyre once again as Jey Uso became the first contender for Damien Priest. The show wasn't nearly as hard-hitting and shocking as others, but it set the stage for what is to come in the short term.