WrestleMania 39 Review

 Last weekend was WrestleMania 39, where the expectations going into the weekend were high, but felt half delivered to some fans. So, here is my review on the big weekend from NXT Stand & Deliver to WrestleMania nights 1 and 2.

NXT Stand & Deliver

Fight for the University: Chase U vs. Schism- This was on the pre-show to get things going and was not totally invested in this feud besides seeing the in-ring debut of Schism’s Ava Raine but in the end the immensely popular Chase U came out victorious while Schism still is a little underwhelming.

NXT Women’s Championship Ladder Match- We kicked off with the NXT women’s championship ladder match with Gigi Dolin, Zoey Stark, Tiffany Stratton, Lyra Valkyria, Indi Hartwell, and Roxanne Perez. The match was good every one came close to winning, pretty nice performance from Stratton, Stark, and Dolin but the match picked up when Dolin attempts to get the title until former partner, new enemy Jacy Jayne appeared knocked her off the ladder ruining her chance that led to a great opportunity for Hartwell to win and with help from Dexter Lumis climbs up to win the NXT women’s championship in a shocker.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match- The Family, Creed Brothers, and Gallus faced off for the tag titles, this was an ok match following the opener, but a returning Joe Coffey gave Gallus the advantage to keep their title and be fully reunited.

NXT North American Championship Match- Another multi person match takes place this time for the North American title as champion Wes Lee defends the title against Ilja Dragunov, JD McDonagh, Axiom, and Dragon Lee. This match was widely considered the match of afternoon and possibly of the weekend for some, an impressive performance to a wider audience for Axiom and Dragunov. Now I had newcomer Dragon Lee coming out with the win, but Wes Lee is still champion after a thrilling match making him a legitimate star going forward.

Unsanctioned Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Grayson Waller- A returning NXT favorite Johnny Gargano aka Johnny TakeOver on behalf of Shawn Michaels took on Grayson Waller in an unsanctioned match after some attacks leading up to the event. This was kind of bland for a match sadly with Kendo stick shots and such but despite the loss was a spotlight moment for Waller but in the end, Gargano wins and a reunion of The Way with Lumis, Hartwell, and LeRae was a moment for fans.

NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Match- This was probably the bathroom break/snack time part of the show as champions Kiana James and Fallon Henley faced Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn. Not much to say here unfortunately but Fyre and Dawn came out with the win and are the new women’s tag champions.

NXT Championship Match- The main event and long-awaited match was next with champion Bron Breakker defending his title against Carmelo Hayes. The clear-cut top 2 guys on NXT put on a great match probably one of Breakker’s better title defenses, towards Hayes reverses a military press setting up nothing but net for the win and finally becomes NXT Champion starting a new reign in NXT.

Wrestlemania 39 Night One

U.S. Title Match: John Cena vs. Austin Theory- Wrestlemania opened up with U.S. title match where champion Austin Theory takes on John Cena. Cena had a nice moment for the nice entrance with some Make-A-Wish kids on stage with him, the match was decent but not a Wrestlemania match but for another PLE but Theory with a low blow then his finisher to beat Cena giving Theory the much-needed validation wins to continue building him to a main event player.

Men’s WrestleMania Showcase Match: The second match was a 4-way tag featuring Braun Strowman and Ricochet, The Viking Raiders, Alpha Academy, and Street Profits. This was a fairly fun match with some cool moments like Chad Gable doing the rolling German Suplex on Strowman, Strowman’s splash off the top rope, and Angelo Dawkins hitting Strowman with a pounce, but the Profits came out victorious for this showcase.

Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins- A grudge match was next with Logan Paul against Seth Rollins; the entrances were cool with Paul ziplining to the ring and Rollins having a conductor lead the crowd in singing his theme, but the match did not disappoint at all. Definite big match feel here Rollins and Paul went back and forth but after a backfiring attempt of a frog splash to Rollins through an announce desk led to a much-needed Rollins victory and another great outing for Paul.

Damage CTRL vs. Lita, Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus- A six women tag match was the legends moment on the show, unfortunately damage ctrl lost giving Lita, Becky and Trish the win but leaves us asking “What is next?” for Damage Ctrl after the weekend.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Rey Mysterio- For the second time at WrestleMania father and son faced off, again the entrances were great from Dominik coming out the paddy wagon in handcuffs while Rey comes out in the low-rider driven by WrestleMania co-host Snoop Dogg, but the match delivered. The big stage did not rattle Dominik and was a star making performance for him, the interactions with his mom and sister were great along with Rey whipping Dominik in the corner, was a totally good match with some interaction from music star Bad Bunny lead to a 619 to get the win over Dominik capping his hall of fame weekend.

Smackdown Women’s Championship Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley- We now come to one of the matches of the weekend as Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley faced off where some felt this should have ended night one but tore the house down. Ripley and Flair started off slow but picked up where both ladies laid it in, the German suplexes by Ripley, chops by Flair, to the end with the Riptide from the middle rope to give Ripley the victory and a moment she deserved to kick off the Mami Era on Friday nights.

WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn- Our main event was for the undisputed tag titles as the bloodline situation came to ahead as the Usos defends the titles against reunited friends Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens out to tear down the bloodline. The match was incredible if you did not see it stop whatever you’re doing and watch that match, just a great match with little subtle things for the bloodline story.

Sami Zayn and Jey Uso were the MVPs of this match from Jey giving Zayn the Helluva kick to the three emotional Helluva kicks Zayn gave to Jey Uso to seal the victory for him and Owens becoming the new undisputed tag team champions ending night one on high note but in hindsight should have been foreshadowing for what was to come for night two.

WrestleMania 39 Night Two

Brock Lesnar vs. Omos- Night two of WrestleMania kicked off with a monster size match with Omos facing Brock Lesnar, we all knew this was not going to be a marathon match but brief battle. Omos for most of the match overpowered Lesnar giving some spotlight to the giant but a couple of giant sized German suplexes followed by a massive F-5 giving Lesnar the win and a solid start.

Women’s WrestleMania Women’s Showcase- This showcase match was one of the forgetful moments of the weekend no disrespect to the competitors, but this was meant for Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler to win but this match was quick and kind of odd. There were some moments for Raquel Rodriguez and Chelsea Green, but the match just did not work the way it was expected.

Triple Threat Intercontinental Championship Match: Gunther, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre- This match probably edged out some other matches for match of the weekend, but this was an amazing hard-hitting, physical, banger of a match. Again, go back watch this match and just enjoy how impressive it was from the insane chops and just physical exchanges between all 3 men made the match. In the end a couple of power bombs and timing led to Gunther keeping the title and has myself and others wanting more of this going forward.

Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka- The women clearly had some of better matches of the weekend, Bianca Belair versus Asuka was a great match from the entrances for both women (Especially Bianca’s for those kids) to the exchange throughout the match delivered. The end did not go the way I hoped with Asuka winning but a missed attempt with her mist, powering out of the armbar into a KOD making Belair 3-0 at the WrestleMania and see what is next for the EST.

Hell in a Cell: Edge vs. Finn Balor- This match was highly anticipated with the end of this rivalry happened here with Edge or Brood Edge facing Demon Finn Balor. The entrances were cool, and the match was ok. Seeing Balor in the paint was refreshing to see but a freak moment with Balor being cut open the match was all right did not need the colored theme kendo sticks and tables honestly.

The final part of the match was eh despite Balor’s finisher off the side of the cell and missed leading to an Edge victory that was not needed as much as a Balor win for the Demon character, Judgement Day’s standing and for Balor himself.

WWE Undisputed Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes- We come to the marquee match of the weekend where I wanted the story to be finished for Rhodes like many wanted to but when a good brother of mine called this awhile back and pointed out the grander view of things made sense for me the next couple of days. But this felt like a WrestleMania main event in a little while, Cody’s entrance was epic especially the nice touch giving weightlifting belt to Brodie Lee’s son and holding his daughter really had people like me feeling this was going to happened.

The match was a awesome textbook main event match whether you like WWE or not got to accept that fact, great back and forth story within the match where Solo Sikoa was ejected evening the odds for Rhodes for a bit until a referee bump invited the chance for the Usos to help Reigns until Owens and Zayn came to even the odds again until Sikoa returned to give Rhodes a Samoan Spike setting up a Reigns spear for the shocking victory leaving some fans at SoFi stadium and at home in stunned silence.

Hopefully that match will lead to some bigger or more investing story going forward with both guys, but the lasting visual of Rhodes in the ring in defeat was probably the best thing for this feud having us wondering what is next. Overall, I would give this weekend a 6 out of 10 because for some of the absolutely great stuff that happened there were some just out right bad aspects of the weekend not factoring in no sign of Bobby Lashley (besides a 30 second appearance) and no LA Knight brought the potential grade of maybe a 7 or 8 dropped down to a 6.  Hopefully at WrestleMania 40 will get it right in an enthusiastic wrestling town like Philadelphia but the post WrestleMania stuff should be interesting leading to Backlash in Puerto Rico, Money in the Bank in London, and SummerSlam in Detroit as the big events coming up.