Night 1…

Every year, the World Wrestling Entertainment holds its annual “Showcase of the Immortals”, the biggest spectacle in professional wrestling, WrestleMania. The event has become so big that WWE needs an entire weekend to fit in all of its festivities. This year’s Mania is in Las Vegas (for the second year in a row) and is hosted by the recently retired, never-seen, seventeen-time WWE Champion, John Cena.

Now that Night One of WrestleMania is in the books, I will save you the time and tell you what went down. **SPOILER ALERT**

LA Knight and The Usos vs. The Vision and IShowSpeed

The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) and the “Mega Star” LA Knight became allies due to a mutual dislike of tag team champions, The Vision (Logan Paul and Austin Theory), who defeated the former champions, The Usos, for the belts due to “accidental” interference by YouTube star, IShowSpeed, that cost The Usos the championships.

The match was a great appetizer to the main course. It had big names with charisma and a lazy storyline, perfect for a last-minute filler match… and that’s pretty much what it was. The wrestler intros might have been the largest pop from the crowd. Fans were “Yeeting” and shouting “YEEAAH”. Speed is no doubt very athletic and put on a decent showing, but the match was your typical, run-of-the-mill celebrity match… The wrestlers carried the match, while sprinkling in Speed here and there, leading up to a high spot.

Logan Paul was accidentally pushed into Knight by Speed, when a miscommunication between Theory and Speed led to Theory falling victim to Knight’s BFT (Blunt Force Trauma) finisher. In true heel fashion, Paul flipped his lid and attacked Speed, blaming him for the team’s loss.

Knight and the Usos watched from the ramp as Paul placed Speed onto the announcer’s table. Eventually, the “good guys” did the right thing and intervened, taking out Paul themselves and putting him onto the announce table. The Usos helped Speed climb the ropes, allowing Speed to get his “Mania moment“, a Frog Splash onto Paul from the top of the ring post.

Unsanctioned Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu

After months of backstage brawls and attacks, stemming from Jacob Fatu’s interference that caused Drew McIntyre to drop his Undisputed Title to Cody Rhodes, the two behemoths will face off in an unsanctioned, anything goes battle, which SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis hopes will end the feud once and for all.

The “Samoan Werewolf”, Fatu, came to the ring first, donned in post-apocalyptic battle gear. He intently stared down the sword-wielding “Scottish Psychopath” as he slowly approached the ring, attacking McIntyre before he could enter the ring… the violence started before the Scot could even take his jacket off.

This match surprised me. To borrow a phrase from Fatu himself, this fight was “All gas, no brakes.” Both competitors are athletic and agile for their size. In less than 30 seconds, both men used their bodies as projectiles, flipping themselves through the air, sacrificing their own bodies to inflict punishment.

An arsenal of items, from steel chairs to tables to an actual toolbox full of tools, was utilized as weapons. McIntyre even took the referee’s belt to whip Fatu, before the wild Samoan turned the tables, literally, ending the match with a springboard, double-jump “Mighty Moonsault” through a tabled McIntyre.

Fatal Four-Way Women’s Tag Team Championships: Nia Jax and Lash Legend (Champions) vs. Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria vs. Brie Bella and ???

The “Irresistible Forces” Nia Jax and Lash Legend have dominated the Women’s tag team division for the past few months, defeating former champions, RHIYO (Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky) back in February. Since then, several teams of women have proved to be worthy challengers for the gold. Former champions (Alexa Bliss and Charlotte), reunited friends (Bayley and Lyra Valkyria), and a set of Hall of Fame twins (Nikki and Brie Bella) all earned their opportunity in a Fatal Four-Way.

Alexa Bliss and Charlotte came out first, dressed as a butterfly and a moth, followed by Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. I thought it was a little odd that the Champions, Nia Jax and Lash Legend, didn’t come out last, as is typical. They were dressed in all-white attire inspired by new WWE Hall of Famers, Demolition.

Then came the biggest pop of the night… the Bella Twins walked out with Nikki Bella wearing a walking boot with a mic in her hand and a crutch under her arm. She announced that she couldn’t compete, so she called an old friend. Out walks Paige, returning after an eight-year absence. POP!!

As usual, the women’s match delivered. The pure athleticism of these women was on full display. The match was full of big spots, close calls, and false finishes. Though I think the match was good, it seemed rushed and predictable. It ended how most of us expected, with Paige hitting the Ram-Paige (on Alexa) and hoisting the title alongside Brie.

Women’s Intercontinental Championship: AJ Lee (Champion) vs. Becky Lynch

For the past six months or so, AJ Lee has been the thorn in “The Man” Becky Lynch’s side since her return to WWE in September, when Lee and her husband, CM Punk, defeated Lynch and her husband, Seth Rollins, in a mixed tag-team match. Lee cost Lynch her Women’s Intercontinental Championship in November and later won the title for herself via submission at the Elimination Chamber. The two women also squared off in a WarGames match, with AJ once again besting Becky.

The Wonder Years performed The Man’s entrance live, and a small army of mini-AJs led the Women’s IC Champ to the ring, skipping their way down the ramp. [Side note: My favorite part of AJ’s entrance was when one of the little Lees ran off and escaped to the back. Poor thing got stage fright.]

This match was pretty solid. Back-and-forth action, with neither woman dominating the match.

Seth Rollins vs. Gunther

Seth Rollins returned from a shoulder injury and was brutally attacked by the Ring General, Gunther. The two have unfinished business. Rollins and Gunther have only fought once, seven years ago, and the very large Austrian grappler believes that Seth has been avoiding him for years.

Gunther is very stoic, no nonsense, no flash or flare. Just business. Rollins is the complete opposite. The Architect oozes charisma and feeds off of the crowd’s energy as they sing along, while he soaks it all in and arrogantly strolls to the ring looking like a “villain from Game of Thrones”, as WWE commentator Michael Cole stated upon seeing Seth’s all-black eyes and smoke emitting from his jacket.

This was the match of the night. Both combatants are at the top of their game. The match was non-stop. They fought inside and outside the ring, exchanging finishers and signature holds, with neither man holding a definitive advantage… until outside interference from Rollins’ former protege, Bron Breakker, who speared Seth into the ring barrier and allowed Gunther to choke out Rollins. To me, this ending was predictable, but it allowed a finish that made both Rollins and Gunther look strong.

Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (Champion) vs. Liv Morgan

Back in January, Liv Morgan won the women’s Royal Rumble and secured her opportunity to challenge “La Premera” Stephanie Vaquer for the championship. They did a great job building up to this match. Morgan channeled her New Jersey roots and upped her “Jersey trash” persona with some top-notch smack-talking and attacking Vaquer on numerous occasions. Vaquer took the high road, always looking elegant and playing the babyface role to perfection.

Apparently, Liv Morgan is a pop star… or that is what WWE wants us to believe. I wasn’t buying it. Her “live” performance of her “hit” song, “Trouble”, was troubling. The crowd seemed confused and uninterested in her lip syncing until her backup dancers stripped her of her clothes, and some of the fellas in attendance woke up.

Vaquer embraced her moment, making her first WrestleMania entrance, slowly strolling down the ramp with rose pedals falling behind her, long robe flowing, World Championship belt around her waist, and devil horns perched atop her raven hair. She looked like royalty and class, like a true champion.

The match had the potential to be great, but it fell a little flat. The theme of the night seemed to be “rushed” because most of their matches started well, built up to a climax, but ended abruptly without allowing the match to tell its story.

They built this matchup so beautifully over the last three months, but didn’t execute on the payoff. The match was even; nobody tipped the scales in their favor, exchanging false finishes… until Morgan’s Judgment Day friends interfered (rolls eyes) and allowed Morgan to hit Vaquer with ObLivion and pin the champion. 1-2-3. Morgan is now a 3-time champion.

Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (Champion) vs. Randy Orton

No match on the Mania card holds as much history as this one… Once tag team partners and stablemates in Legacy, Randy Orton took a young Cody Rhodes under his wing and showed him the ring ropes. Both are considered wrestling royalty. Cody is the son of a “son of a plumber”, the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, and Randy is the son of “Cowboy” Bob Orton Jr.

Once longtime friends, eventually Orton grew jealous of his friend, and the voices convinced him to take out that jealousy through violence on his friend. This was the Night 1 match that I most looked forward to.

The first man to enter the arena was Orton’s new ally, Pat McAfee. The pair would walk to the ring together. Getting flipped off by the “Cody Crybabies every step was. Rhodes’ entrance was a trip down Memory Lane, retelling his evolution from his time in Legacy (with Orton), to Dashing Cody Rhodes, the often mocked Stardust, and the American Nightmare. Rhodes had a Gold winged-skull helmet and jacket.

The match itself was good. Not great. It was an all-out battle between two of the greatest in-ring performers of all-time. The Viper, Orton, is pound for pound, one of the best heels in the business. All 6’5″ 275 lbs of him. Rhodes is a “white meat” babyface, cheered by the masses and idolized by kids and adults alike.

The match was bloody. When Randy was too bloody to see, he accidentally RKO’ed the ref, and both competitors resorted to dastardly tactics. After he took out Rhodes, McAfee, wearing a referee’s shirt, ran out to make a quick count on Cody, but the champion kicked out.

Orton quickly repaid McAfee with an RKO, which opened the door for a Cross Rhodes for the pin. After the match, the Viper was beside himself. He attacked Rhodes, stared at Cody’s title, and punt-kicked Rhodes in the side of his head… Night 1 ended with Orton holding the belt while standing over Rhodes.

In the Books…

Night 1 is in the books. Over 50,000 people attended the live spectacle in Sin City. Though the event was pretty good, pretty good isn’t good enough for the grandest stage of them all. I felt slightly disappointed and let down by Night 1. The 3 hours 55 minute show consisted of just 98 minutes of actual wrestling, 61 minutes of entrances, 19 minutes of promos/ talking segments, and a whopping 57 minutes of advertisements.

While I get that WWE is a business, less than half of the show was used on actual wrestling. Stay tuned for our Night 2 recap…