Once again, WWE presents its biggest show of the year on the grandest stage of them all with “WrestleMania 42.” It was overall an underwhelming show but had some major high points.
Most people unanimously agree that Night 1 was an absolute borefest. The matches were painfully short and plagued with constant celebrity appearances. Sure, seeing IShowSpeed hit a frog splash on Logan Paul through the announcer table was fun and all, but having Logan Paul, IShowSpeed, Pat McAfee and Jellyroll on the SAME CARD!?
One high point of this card was the unsanctioned match between Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre, which was a fun brawl that really felt like it belonged at WrestleMania.
The main event, Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton for the WWE title was an overbooked letdown of what was supposed to be a legendary match between these two generational superstars. While seeming like a rehash of Cody vs Cena at last year’s mania, the match still had a compelling build and potential to be a classic….then they added Jellyroll and Pat McAfee.
This has been talked about to death but after the match was announced WWE showed videos of Randy talking on the phone with a mysterious unnamed individual. Who could it be? The Rock? Kevin Owens? Ted DiBiase Jr? How about Pat McAfee? Possibly one of the lamest reveals in wrestling history. All for an overall mid match. Cody ended up winning, but got severely attacked by Randy after. Why not just have Randy win at that point?
Famous AEW wrestler Kenny Omega said in a recent interview that he sees the main event of “WrestleMania” in a few years being Logan Paul vs Mr. Beast, and he might be right.
Main events aside, a good portion of this show just felt like an episode of “Monday Night Raw.” The concept of less-than-10-minute matches at Wrestlemania is purely unacceptable, boring matches at that.
Night two was much superior like always, it featured some good stuff and carried the show. Watching the rising star Oba Femi retire Brock Lesnar in a passing the torch moment of powerhouses was a monumental moment and set the stage for the rest of the show.
The program featured other notable moments and matches. The ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship was an hell of a show with jaw-dropping, death-defying moves being performed from all over the arena. Penta is a great talent. I understand why WWE had him retain his title, but I honestly think that the rising star J’evon Evans should have won instead.
It felt great seeing Trick Williams defeat Sami Zayn (or “Sami Hogan” as called by fans) for the United States championship. This Mania really felt like a showcase of Black talent, even if among that Black talent is IShowSpeed. I also like the double-turn angle they’re doing with Trick Williams becoming more of the face and Sami Zayn getting more in touch with his heelish side, and even though I disliked all the celebrity appearances, Lil Yachty’s role in the story was pretty fun.
The return of Finn Balor’s Demon persona was pretty fun, though I wish it came with a better crowd; they barely reacted.
Then there was the main event, which was exactly that, a dramatic war of a match that the whole show, better yet the whole year, had been leading to. This match kept me at the edge of my seat from the moment the bell rang all the way to the end when these two undeniable landmarks off the WWE crossed paths in a 1 on 1 match for the first time. Both of these solidified icons put it all on the line and left everything in the ring. I was absolutely thrilled by this match, from the heated mid-match trash talk Roman Reigns does, to the amazing in-ring wrestling, to the great finish which saw Roman Reigns winning the title without any help. This match saved the whole show and will go down in history as an instant classic.
“Backlash” is coming up and it has a pretty promising card and it’ll serve as a good closing season to the Wrestlemania festivities. With that being said, goodbye “WrestleMania.” We’ll be awaiting your return next year.
