Four decades of the pinnacle of sports entertainment, Wrestlemania 40 is still much too XL for just one night. Here on Night One, in the main event, former bitter rivals turned necessary allies, Cody Rhodes and the reigning World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin'” Rollins team up to battle the unimaginable duo of the Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns, and The Rock. Not simply a batter for dominance, of Reigns and The Rock are victorious, then tomorrow night’s main event between Reigns and Rhodes will be contested under Bloodline Rules, all but guaranteeing another dominant Reigns victory. Also taking place here on the first night of Wrestlemania 40 action, the single most dominant Intercontinental Champion in WWE history, GUNTHER will battle eternal underdog Sami Zayn with the title on the line, while Rhea Ripley reaches one year as champion and will defend her Women’s World Championship against Becky Lynch. The Undisputed Tag Team Champions, Finn Balor and Damien Priest of The Judgement Day will also put their titles on the line in a 6-team ladder match with unique rules. Even if one set of belts is claimed, the match will continue until both sets have been claimed, crowning The Judgement Day, Austin Theory and Grayson Waller, The Miz and R-Truth, Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne, or Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano as the separate Raw and Smackdown Tag Team Champions. Also on the show, brothers collide when Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso face off in singles competition for the very first time, and former allies collide when Rey Mysterio and Andrade team up to face Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar in tag team competition. Finally, the much anticipate follow up to Jade Cargill’s Royal Rumble debut when she teams with Bianca Belair and Naomi to battle the trio of Damage CTRL’s Dakota Kai, Asuka and KAIRI.
+ GUNTHER (c) vs Sami Zayn (WWE Intercontinental Championship): first and foremost, I cannot believe this was not Chad Gable against GUNTHER, after everything he had done over the last year. I have nothing against Sami, but I was absolutely all-in on Gable, and after seeing this match, I’m not sure Gable would not have been a better match. Still, this was fine, and Sami Zayn had the crowd support which surprised me. GUNTHER is just the best in everything he does, and his simple style worked really well against Sami Zayn. I can admit that by the end I was on board with the match-up being what it was, and this was a good match
+ The Judgement Day (Finn Balor & Damien Priest) (c) vs DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs Awesome Truth (The Mix & R-Truth) vs New Catch Republic (Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne) vs A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller) vs The New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston) (6-Pack Ladder Match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships): these Wrestlemania ladder matches are always a spectacle, and this was no exception. There were a handful of crazy spots from a lot of new faces in a situation like this. Specifically, both of New Catch Republic were great, and A-Town Down Under were fantastic in their role as douchebag bad guys. I’ve been a fan of Grayson Waller for a very long time now, and I’m thrilled that he’s on a big show like this in a title match no less
+ Rhea Ripley vs Becky Lynch (Women’s World Championship): this was okay, maybe even ‘good’, but absolutely nowhere near Ripley/Charlotte from last year. Ripley looked strong, and Becky looks good as she always does, but overall I struggled to get into this one. Becky winning the Elimination Chamber was a bold choice even at the time, and I can’t help but think that there were better options
– Cody Rhodes & Seth “Freakin'” Rollins vs Roman Reigns & The Rock: this was ten minutes of greatness wrapped up with 35 more minutes of absolute garbage. The most damning thing I can say is that I wish I could have skipped through this, because I was losing interest all the time. The Rock looked good overall, both physical and in terms of his presence when compared to the other three, but even he alone could not make this worth watching. I thought the ending to this match was fantastic, but it simply took too long to get there and didn’t seem worth the wait
– Jade Cargill, Naomi & Bianca Belair vs DAMAGE CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka & KAIRI): even as a showcase of Jade Cargill, as this most certainly was, this felt like a waste of time. Imagine having Belair, Asuka and Kairi and thinking a throw-away six-woman tag team match was the best place for them
– Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso: wow, this was absolute garbage. I understand entirely what these two were going for, a carefully crafted balance of action and storytelling to pay off years worth of partnerships, backstabbing and– it just didn’t work. This was so boring, and more than one superkick per minute thrown meant it was little more than a thigh-slapping bathroom break
– Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar: overall I enjoyed this, but I can’t help but think the story got in the way of a good match. Andrade was on an entirely different level to the rest of the participants, and frankly I wonder if any combination of singles or a triple threat between Mysterio/Andrade/Santos would not have been better. Joaquin Wilde did his awesome jump off the ropes spot, which deserves a mention
> Triple H did a fun little ‘welcome to Wrestlemania’ deal. I’m something of a Hunter mark, so I enjoyed it for what it was.
Should you watch this event: The three matches listed as positives above are well worth your time, but there is little on offer from the remaining that you won’t get by simply reading the results.
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