WWE Summerslam 2025 Night Two

By Steve Ward

WWE once again filled MetLife Field in East Rutherford, New Jersey to the rafters with a rabid capacity crowd for Summerslam Night Two. Night Two’s card featured six matches with each one having a title in the balance and was headlined by Cody Rhodes squaring off with John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Women’s World Championship
Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky vs. Naomi (c)
Winner: Naomi via pinfall

Naomi cashed in her Money In The Bank briefcase three weeks ago at Evolution during Iyo Sky’s title defense against Rhea Ripley to become the new Women’s World Champion. With Sky and Ripley both having a legitimate claim to a title opportunity, that brings us to tonight’s triple threat encounter. In the closing moments, Ripley hit the Avalanche Riptide on Iyo Sky and made a pinfall attempt only to have Naomi sneak up on her and roll her up with a handful of tights for the pinfall.

WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match
Street Profits vs. #DIY vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Fraxiom vs. Andrade & Rey Fénix vs. The Wyatt Sick6 (Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy) (c)
Winners: The Wyatt Sick6

This match was a spectacle of chaos and carnage with broken chairs, ladders, and tables strewn about. In the final moments, The Wyatt Sick6 cleared the ring with a pair of chairs and Gacy scaled the ladder to retrieve and retain their titles.

Women’s Intercontinental Championship
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria
Winner: Becky Lynch via pinfall

The bitter rivalry between Becky and Lyra began when Becky turned on Lyra following their tag team title loss at WrestleMania and escalated after Becky took Lyra’s Intercontinental Title. This tumultuous feud would come to a head tonight as Lyra earned a shot at “The Man’s” title following her victory over Bayley recently in a Two Out Of Three Falls Match. Tonight’s no disqualification affair quickly devolved into a hardcore match as countless weapons were introduced. Late in the match, Becky was mercilessly beating Lyra when Bayley decided to interject herself into the match. Late in the bout, with Bayley seemingly taken out by Becky, Bayley climbed onto the ring apron and took a swing at Becky with a chain wrapped around her hand. Lynch avoided the blow and instead it landed square in the face of Lyra. Becky then put away Lyra with the Manhandle Slam to retain her title.

United States Championship
Solo Sikoa (c) vs. Jacob Fatu
Winner: Solo Sikoa

Jacob Fatu sought to regain his United States Championship as the match was contested within a steel cage to help mitigate interference by Solo’s NFTs. In the end, it wasn’t enough. Fatu and Solo found themselves jockeying for position in an attempt to escape the cage through the door. Talla Tonga then slammed the door in Fatu’s face allowing Solo to escape and retain his title.

WWE Intercontinental Championship
AJ Styles vs. “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio (c)
Winner: Dominik Mysterio via pinfall

AJ Styles had been stalking Mysterio for several weeks as he continued to duck “The Phenomenal One” with a supposed rib injury. Late in the match, Dom’s boot came off as Styles attempted a Calf Crusher submission on him. The referee was briefly distracted moments later after avoiding a collision with Styles allowing Dom to strike Styles with the boot. Mysterio then climbed to the top turnbuckle and landed the Frogsplash to allow him to secure the pinfall.

Undisputed WWE Championship Street Fight
Johnny Cena (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
Winner: Cody Rhodes via pinfall

Cody Rhodes finally earned his rematch with John Cena, following his loss to him at WrestleMania 41, after winning the King of the Ring tournament. John Cena appeared poised to retain his title after he executed an Avalanche AA, however, Cody was able to rally as he delivered an Avalanche Cody Cutter (even though it looked more like an awkward bulldog) through a table. Rhodes then covered Cena for the pinfall and regained his title.

Following the match, Cena stood in the ring soaking up the atmosphere when the ultimate shocker of the weekend arrived in the form of Brock Lesnar! Lesnar made his way to the ring and delivered an F5 to Cena before exiting the stadium.

WWE Money In The Bank 2025

By Steve Ward

WWE returned to Peacock tonight with Money In The Bank from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. This event is arguably as pivotal of an event to the annual landscape of WWE each year as the Royal Rumble in that the winners of the Men’s and Women’s Money In The Bank ladder matches earn the opportunity to cash in an opportunity against the champion of their choice at any time for the next year. This evening’s card featured five matches with two title bouts, two Money In The Bank Ladder Matches, and was headlined by a tag team grudge match between the teams of Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes and Logan Paul and John Cena.

Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi vs. Giulia vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Stephanie Vaquer vs. Roxanne Perez
Winner: Naomi

With an opportunity at a world title shot literally hanging in the balance, these six women threw caution to the wind. In the final moments, Alexa Bliss and Rhea Ripley found themselves alone at the top of the ladder jockeying for position. Naomi then emerged from outside the ring and tipped the ladder over leaving a scene of carnage. Naomi took this opportunity to scale the ladder to capture her first Money In The Bank briefcase.

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Dominik Mysterio (c) w/ Liv Morgan vs. Octagon Jr.
Winner: Dominik Mysterio via pinfall

Mysterio appeared at AAA Worlds Collide earlier in the day and confronted Octagon Jr. following his match. Following the brawl that subsequently ensued between the two, Mysterio challenged Octagon Jr. to a match this evening. With an assist by Liv Morgan, Mysterio was able to gain the upper hand and execute the 619 followed by the Frog Splash to retain his title.

Women’s Intercontinental Championship
Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Becky Lynch
Winner: Becky Lynch via pinfall

Despite retaining her title over Lynch last month at Backlash, The Man got the last laugh with a vicious attack following their match. Valkyria then exacted a measure of revenge on Lynch by costing her a spot in the Women’s Money In The Bank ladder match recently on RAW. That led us to tonight’s rematch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. This was a true back and forth affair throughout the contest and the conclusion would be no different. Lyra rolled up Lynch for the pinfall only to have Lynch reverse it for her own pinfall as she grasped her tights for leverage and the win.

Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Seth Rollins w/ Paul Heyman vs. El Grande Americano vs. LA Knight vs. Andrade vs. Penta vs. Solo Sikoa
Winner: Seth Rollins

In the closing moments, the ring and the area surrounding looked like a crime scene. There was no shortage of run-ins as Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed first came to the aid of Rollins and then Jacob Fatu and JC Mateo (Jeff Cobb) for Solo Sikoa. It appeared Sikoa was poised to claim victory as he climbed the ladder until Fatu turned on him by grabbing his ankle and preventing him from reaching the briefcase. Fatu then exclaimed “I hate you” and laid waste to Sikoa. Rollins next attempted to climb the ladder only to be temporarily interrupted by LA Knight before disposing of him and retrieving the briefcase.

Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso vs. Johnny Cena & Logan Paul
Winners: Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso via pinfall

Cody Rhodes made his in-ring return tonight following his loss at Wrestlemania to John Cena. Tonight he would be in tag team action as he partnered with World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso against Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena and Logan Paul. The closing moments saw Rhodes and Cena alone in the ring after Logan Paul put Uso through the announce table with an Asai Moonsault from the middle ring rope. With the referee distracted outside the ring, Cena struck Rhodes with his title belt. It appeared Cena was poised to put Rhodes away until a hooded assailant arose from the crowd and attacked Cena. After incapacitating Cena, the masked man revealed himself as R-Truth who had allegedly left the company this past week following the expiration of his contract. This allowed Rhodes to put Cena away with the Cross Rhodes to solidify the victory.

WWE Bad Blood 2024

By Steve Ward

WWE resurrected it’s Bad Blood moniker following a several year hiatus for tonight’s Premium Live Event (that still doesn’t sound right) which emanated from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. This evening’s show had a special start time of 6 pm ET to cater to those who wanted to also watch UFC 307 at 10 pm ET (a downside of WWE being under the same umbrella as UFC - TKO Holdings). Additionally, the card for tonight’s event was rather slim at five matches, as opposed to AEW’s regularly robust shows, and would be headlined by Roman Reigns teaming up with Cody Rhodes to face Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.

Hell In A Cell Match

Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk 

Winner: CM Punk via pinfall

The longstanding, bitter rivalry between these two combatants would come to a head tonight as they would do battle in Hell In A Cell to mark the third encounter of their trilogy - with each man holding a win over the other. This match was the bloodiest encounter I’ve seen in WWE for more than a decade as both men were busted open early in the match (a sign of WWE looking to potentially ditch the PG era) and took each other to the limit with the use of tables, ring steps, and wrenches to name a few weapons put to use. In the end, Punk wrapped his knee in a chain before delivering his fourth Go To Sleep to finally put away the Scottish Psychopath.

WWE Women’s Championship

Nia Jax (c) vs. Bayley

Winner: Nia Jax via pinfall

Bayley sought to regain the title she lost to Jax at Summerslam (with an assist from Tiffany Stratton) tonight. Tiffany Stratton again made her presence felt in the contest after the referee was inadvertently pancaked by Nia Jax. This allowed the champ to regain momentum as she executed a Samoan Drop from the turnbuckle and the followed it up with her version of the Bonzai Drop to retain her title.

Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest

Winner: Damian Priest via pinfall

Balor and Priest have been embroiled in a bitter feud since Finn betrayed his former Judgement Day brethren at Summerslam costing him the World Heavyweight Championship in the process and tonight the animosity would spill over. In the closing moments of the match, Carlito and JD McDonagh made their way to ringside in an attempt to give Balor the edge. Balor was able to execute his patented Coup de Grace three times but his fourth attempt would prove to be his downfall as Priest countered with the South of Heaven to solidify his victory.

WWE Women’s World Championship (with Dominik Mysterio in a shark cage)

Liv Morgan (c) vs. Rhea Ripley

Winner: Rhea Ripley via DQ

Mysterio viciously betrayed Rhea Ripley at Summerslam costing her the coveted Women’s Title and subsequently seeing her ousted from the Judgement Day. To help ensure “Dirty” Dom would not interfere in the bout, he was suspended in a shark cage above the entryway. Late in the match, Dom managed to get the cage open but fell out of the door and found himself hanging upside down. This prompted Rhea to take a kendo stick to Dom until she was jumped from behind by a returning Racquel Rodriguez. This led to a disqualification of Liv Morgan, however, a title cannot change hands by DQ so Liv escaped with her title.

Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu vs. Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns

Winners: Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns via pinfall

Cody recruited his former bitter rival and the man he took the Universal Championship from at WrestleMania, the “Original Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns, to battle the new tribal chief Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. In the closing moments of the match, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa made their presence known to turn the tide back in favor of Solo and Jacob. This didn’t last long as an individual concealing his face with a bandana emerged from the crowd to neutralize the Tongans with a pair of super kicks. The man then revealed himself as Jimmy Uso who had been out of action since April. This supplied just enough of a distraction for Roman Reigns to break Solo in half with a devastating spear to cap the victory for his team.

Following the match, the New Bloodline proceeded to beat down Cody Rhodes only for Jimmy Uso to convince Roman to return to the ring and save him. Once the dust settled The Rock’s music echoed throughout the arena as he stood in the entryway and stared down the Universal Champion, Cody Rhodes to close the show.

WWE Summerslam 2024

By Steve Ward

WWE Summerslam emanated from Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio this evening in front of a raucous sellout crowd. Tonight’s card featured seven matches, six of which were title bouts. The card was headlined by Cody Rhodes going toe to toe with Solo Sikoa for the WWE Undisputed Championship with the air of speculation as to whether Roman Reigns would make his long-awaited return.

Women’s World Championship 

Rhea Ripley w/ Dominik Mysterio vs. Liv Morgan (c)

Winner: Liv Morgan via pinfall

Rhea Ripley finally received her opportunity tonight for vindication and to regain the title she never lost. Ripley was previously forced to relinquish her title shortly after WrestleMania due to injury. In the weeks following, Liv Morgan became infatuated with Ripley’s man, Dominik Mysterio, who eventually helped her win the Women’s Title in Saudi Arabia. That brings us to tonight where Ripley, who had seemingly taken Dirty Dom back, attempted to win back her title. In the closing moments of the match, Ripley was unable to finish Morgan with the Riptide so she turned to a steel chair. Dom grabbed the chair warning Ripley that she would be disqualified only to, moments later, toss the chair into the ring so Morgan could drive Ripley’s head into it with the Oblivion.

WWE Intercontinental Championship 

Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn (c)

Winner: Bron Breakker via pinfall

Following his unsuccessful bid to win the Intercontinental Championship at Money In The Bank, Breakker has been on a warpath with Zayn in his crosshairs. While this was not the dominating effort one would anticipate, Breakker withstood a Blue Thunder Bomb from Zayn in the final minutes of the bout and countered the Heluva Kick with a spear. Breakker then put Zayn away with another body breaking spear to claim his first main roster title.

WWE United States Championship 

Logan Paul (c) vs. LA Knight

Winner: LA Knight via pinfall

Logan Paul put his 270-day title reign on the line this evening against another Superstar seeking his main roster singles title, LA Knight. In the closing moments, rapper MGK handed Paul brass knuckles which he managed to use to no avail as moments later Knight countered Paul’s attempt to put him away with the BFT to claim the US Title.

WWE Women’s Championship

Bayley (c) vs. Nia Jax

Winner: Nia Jax via pinfall

Nia Jax earned her shot at Bayley’s title tonight as a result of her victory in the Queen of the Ring tournament. Late in the match, Tiffany Stratton made her way to the ring to distract Bayley. This provided Jax the window of opportunity she needed to turn the tides in her favor as she hit two powerbombs and then not one, but two, Annihilators (an homage to Yokozuna’s Bonzai Drop) to win the title.

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre

Special Guest Referee - Seth Rollins 

Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

The bitter rivalry between Punk and Drew would come to a head this evening as Punk is finally cleared to wrestle following his torn triceps suffered at the Royal Rumble (despite making regular appearances since WrestleMania where he cost McIntyre his newly earned title to Mr. Money in the Bank Damian Priest five minutes after winning it from Seth Rollins). Seth Rollins would also be the special guest referee tonight after blaming Punk for costing him the World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank last month. Late in the match, Punk got into a verbal altercation with Rollins and eventually boiled over with emotion and delivered the GTS. As Punk turned his attention back to McIntyre, he received a low blow followed by a brutal Claymore Kick. This allowed McIntyre to claim victory and a measure of revenge.

World Heavyweight Championship 

Damian Priest (c) vs. Gunther

Winner: Gunther via submission 

Tonight Damian Priest would be required to defend his title against Gunther who earned his shot by winning the King of the Ring Tournament. The final minutes of the match saw Priest’s Judgement Day running mate Finn Balor make his way to ringside seemingly in support of Damian. Priest proceeded to rally and hit the Razor’s Edge and South of Heaven and proceeded to attempt a pinfall. Balor then betrayed Priest and put Gunther’s leg on the ring rope to break the count. Gunther finally cinched in back-to-back sleeper holds with the second putting Priest to sleep and crowning Gunther with his first World Heavyweight Championship.

WWE Undisputed Championship 

Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Solo Sikoa 

Winner: Cody Rhodes via pinfall

Tonight’s match had been in the making seemingly ever since Solo took control of The Bloodline following Roman Reign’s loss at WrestleMania. Surprisingly, this bout, contested under Bloodline Rules, began with Solo coming to the ring alone. The match began as a typical back and forth affair until Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga intervened only to be quelled by Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. Just moments later, Jacob Fatu intervened to turn the tides in Solo’s favor again. Fatu then put Rhodes through a table but injured himself in the process. Next, the unspeakable happened as Roman Reigns made his long-awaited return and delivered a Superman Punch and spear to Solo which allowed Cody to hit the Cross Rhodes to retain his title.

WWE Money in the Bank 2024 Recap

By Steve Ward

The WWE finally returned to North America for a “Premium Live Event” this evening as Money in The Bank emanated from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. WWE’s last three PLE’s were held in France (Backlash), Saudi Arabia (King of the Ring), and Scotland (Clash at The Castle) and they will finally return to the US next month for SummerSlam. While I understand that WWE is a global brand with shareholders to answer to, they should remember that the company was built in the United States and the fan base deserves more than watered down weekly programming. As for tonight’s event, the card featured five bouts with two titles contested and would be headlined by the Men’s and Women’s Money In The Bank matches which would have the potential to heavily influence the title landscape of WWE moving forward.

Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade vs. Chad Gable vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Jey Uso vs. LA Knight
Winner: Drew McIntyre

The show surprisingly kicked off with the Men’s Money In The Bank Match which proved to be foreshadowing for a cash-in later in the show. The winner of the match would be awarded a contract for a title bout at any time. Following a chaotic match filled with ladders being trashed and bodies broken, it appeared in the closing moments that Jey Uso would retrieve the briefcase. Then out of nowhere, Drew McIntyre threw a ladder that struck Uso in the face and knocked him from the ladder. McIntyre followed up with a Claymore Kick to dispose of Uso and ascended to the top of the ladder to become Mr. Money In The Bank.

Intercontinental Championship

Sami Zayn (c) vs. Bron Breakker

Winner: Sami Zayn via pinfall

Following his monumental upset over Gunther at Wrestlemania to end his historic Intercontinental Title reign, Zayn faced, arguably, his most daunting opponent in Bron Breakker - the son of Rick Steiner and, obviously, nephew of Scott Steiner. Bron Breakker put on a phenomenal display of power and agility as he dominated Zayn for the entire match. In the closing moments, Breakker delivered a body breaking power slam and squared Sami up for the spear. Zayn was able to avoid disaster and kicked Breakker in the face. The defending champ then delivered a Heluva Kick to put Breakker down for the three count and sneak out of Toronto with his title.

Following the match, there was a segment hosted by Trish Stratus where John Cena was introduced to cut a promo announcing he would be retiring from in-ring competition at the end of 2025. 

World Heavyweight Championship

Damian Priest (c) vs. Seth Rollins

Winner: Damian Priest via pinfall

At this year’s Wrestlemania, Rollins lost his title to Drew McIntyre (who subsequently lost it minutes later to Damian Priest who cashed in the Money in The Bank briefcase) and spent two months out of action due to a procedure on his knee. Tonight, Rollins would attempt to regain his title against the Judgement Day’s Damian Priest. This match devolved into chaos halfway through as Drew McIntyre came down to the ring and cashed in the Money In The Bank briefcase making it a triple threat encounter. After McIntyre disposed of Rollins, CM Punk emerged from the crowd and brutally reciprocated the beat down he received several weeks ago in his hometown of Chicago. A vulnerable McIntyre then fell victim to the South of Heaven at the hands of Damian Priest who was able to retain his title. 

Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Naomi vs. Zoey Stark vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Chelsea Green vs. Iyo Sky

Winner: Tiffany Stratton

The same reward would literally hang in the balance as in the men’s match to start the show with the winner earning a contract for a title opportunity at any time in the next year. In the closing moments, Chelsea Green and Tiffany Stratton were on side by side ladders jockeying for position to grab the briefcase. Stratton shoved Green’s ladder launching her to the floor where she crashed through two tables. Stratton then retrieved the briefcase unopposed.

Six-Man Tag Team Match

Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, & Kevin Owens vs. The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, & Jacob

Fatu) w/ Tonga Loa

Winners: The Bloodline via pinfall

Since Cody Rhodes dethroned the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns, and took his Universal Championship at Wrestlemania, he has remained embroiled in a bitter feud with the newly revamped Bloodline with Solo Sikoa in charge. Since Wrestlemania, Sikoa first ousted his brother Jimmy Uso, then recruited Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, the sons of the legendary Haku/Meng, unleashed the “Samoan Werewolf” Jacob Fatu, son of the Tonga Kid, and viciously beat down Paul Heyman when he would not “acknowledge” Solo as new Tribal Chief. That leads us to tonight’s bitter grudge match where Rhodes recruited backup in Owens and Orton. With bodies strewn about, the announce table in shambles, and the referee knocked out for a significant amount of time, the closing moments saw Jacob Fatu prop up Cody Rhodes so Solo Sikoa could deliver a Samoan Spike to the jugular. The referee was then helped back into the ring to count the pinfall as Solo covered Cody.

WWE WrestleMania 40 - Night Two

By Steve Ward

WWE once again emanated from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA for Night Two of WrestleMania 40. This evening proved to be a more entertaining spectacle with the increase in star power and championship bouts as Night One felt like more of a glorified kick off show with the exception of a stellar main event. Tonight’s card featured seven matches with five titles contested leading up to Cody Rhodes getting another opportunity to “finish his story” in an attempt to take the Universal Championship from Roman Reigns under Bloodline Rules.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

McIntyre earned his shot at Rollins’ championship as a result of his victory in the Elimination Chamber. Seth “Freakin” Rollins would face an uphill battle after the punishment he undertook on Night One in the main event, and it showed as he entered the match covered in Kinesio tape. Seth Rollins demonstrated impressive resiliency throughout the match as he withstood several Claymore Kicks until the final two were simply too much for him to withstand.

Following the match, McIntyre decided to gloat in the face of CM Punk who was the guest commentator for the match. Punk took exception and swiped Drew’s feet out from under him as he stood on the announce table over him. Punk then removed the brace from his arm and beat McIntyre down as the music of The Judgement Day echoed throughout the stadium. Damian Priest sprinted to the ring with his Money In The Bank briefcase and leveled McIntyre with it before telling the referee that he would be cashing in his title opportunity.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Damian Priest

Winner: Damian Priest via pinfall

Damian Priest promptly executed the South of Heaven to steal the World Heavyweight Championship from McIntyre.

Philadelphia Street Fight

The Final Testament (Karrion Kross & Authors of Pain) w/ Scarlett & Paul Ellering vs. Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits w/ B-Fab

Special Guest Referee: Bubba Ray Dudley

Winners: Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits

Following the destruction of several kendo sticks, chairs, and tables, this match saw its conclusion as Lashley and The Street Profits isolated Kross and laid him out across yet another table. Montez Ford then climbed to the top turnbuckle and leapt onto Kross putting him through the table and cinching the victory for his team.

AJ Styles vs. LA Knight\

Winner: LA Knight via pinfall

AJ Styles blamed LA Knight for costing him the Universal Heavyweight Championship when they were engaged in a triple threat match with Roman Reigns several months back. Tempers finally boiled over in the Elimination Chamber match as Styles assaulted Knight with a steel chair leading them into a bitter rivalry that culminated tonight on the Showcase of the Immortals. AJ Styles appeared to have LA Knight in dire straits for much of the match, however, his attempts at a springboard 450, Phenomenal Forearm, and Styles Clash were all denied before Knight finally countered with the BFT (Blunt Force Trauma) to seal his first WrestleMania victory.

United States Championship Match

Logan Paul (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens

Winner: Logan Paul via pinfall

Orton and Owens initially stood unified against Paul until he had been thoroughly beaten down and the match devolved into chaos. In the final moments of the match, Orton hit the RKO on Kevin Owens as a counter to the Pop-Up Powerbomb. Paul then got the jump on Orton and tossed him out of the ring allowing him to capitalize on a downed Owens with an impressive frog splash to put the final exclamation on his successful title defense.

WWE Women’s Championship

Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bayley

Winner: Bayley via pinfall

After Bayley won the Women’s Royal Rumble match back in January, her Damage Ctrl stablemates unceremoniously ousted her from the group with a vicious beat down setting up tonight’s showdown of former best friends. Bayley was limited the entire match by what appeared to be a legitimate knee injury but still prevailed in the end with a massive top rope elbow drop followed by the Rose Plant to crown her as the new WWE Women’s Champion.

WWE Undisputed Universal Championship

Roman Reigns (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. Cody Rhodes

Winner: Cody Rhodes via pinfall

Tonight’s match was contested under Bloodline Rules (meaning there would be no disqualifications, no count outs, etc.) as a result of Rhodes and Rollins losing the main event of WrestleMania Night One to Roman Reigns and The Rock. The big question tonight would be whether Cody Rhodes, the cover Superstar for the WWE 2K24 video game, would “finish his story” as predicted or would Roman Reigns continue his historic title reign. The match initially got off to an uneventful start, but business began to pick up as Jimmy Uso came to Reigns’ aid at the first sign of peril, but he was neutralized by his twin brother Jey. Next, Solo Sikoa helped Roman take down Rhodes again. This time John Cena came to Rhodes rescue only to have his momentum disrupted promptly by The Rock who delivered the Rock Bottom to the 16-time world champion.

Then the music of The Shield shocked the WWE Universe as a broken Seth Rollins entered the ring in his old Shield attire only to be the recipient of a brutal chair shot to the back. Next, the shocker of the match occurred as the lights went out and the unmistakable bell tolled throughout Lincoln Financial Field. As the lights returned, The Rock found himself face to face with The Undertaker who choke slammed “The Final Boss” before the lights once again went out. As the lights came back up, The Undertaker was gone, and The Rock was incapacitated on the floor outside of the ring. Shortly thereafter, Rhodes delivered three consecutive Cross Rhodes to conquer The Tribal Chief and finish his story on the grandest stage of them all.

WWE Royal Rumble 2024

By Steve Ward

The WWE kicked off the road to Wrestlemania this evening as the Royal Rumble emanated from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. This evening’s event featured a men’s and women’s Royal Rumble match, as well as, a Fatal Four Way Match for the Undisputed Universal Championship as Roman Reigns put his 1,245 day title reign on the line against AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and LA Knight.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Bayley

Order of entry:

Natalya

Naomi

Bayley

Candice LeRae

Jordynne Grace

Indi Hartwell

Asuka

Ivy Nile

Katana Chance

Bianca Belair

Kairi Sane

Tegan Nox

Kayden Carter

Chelsea Green

Piper Niven

Xia Li

Zelina Vega

Maxxine Dupri

Nia Jax

Shotzi

Becky Lynch

Alba Fyre

Shayna Baszler

Valhalla

Michin

Zoey Stark

Roxanne Perez

Jade Cargill

Tiffany Stratton

Liv Morgan

Final Three: Jade Cargill, Bayley, Liv Morgan (Tiffany Stratton and Bianca Belair were simultaneously eliminated off the apron by Bayley)

In the final moments, all three women battled on the ring apron. First, Morgan shockingly tossed Cargill off the apron. Next, Bayley, ever the opportunist, kicked Liv’s legs out from under her for the elimination and to punch her ticket to Lincoln Financial Field for Wrestlemania.

Undisputed Universal Championship Fatal Four Way Match

Roman Reigns (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton vs. LA Knight

Winner: Roman Reigns via pinfall

Several weeks ago on Smackdown, Styles, Knight, and Orton competed in a Triple Threat Match to determine Reigns’ opponent for tonight’s event, however, The Bloodline ensured that no winner was determined. As a result of their actions, Smackdown general manager Nick Aldis declared that all three men would compete against Reigns tonight. In the closing moments, Reigns appeared to be in dire straits after a barrage of chair shots from AJ Styles and a massive elbow drop from LA Knight. Knight then attempted the BFT but Reigns countered and propelled him into the ropes where Styles was preparing to deliver a Phenomenal Forearm. Styles was knocked off the ropes and Reigns took advantage by executing a body crumbling spear to secure the pinfall and retain his title.

WWE United States Championship 

Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens

Winner: Logan Paul via disqualification

In the closing moments of the contest, Grayson Waller and Austin Theory made their way to ringside. Theory proceeded to slip brass knuckles to Logan Paul, however, Kevin Owens ripped them off his hand before he could be struck and turned around to use them on Paul. As Owens went for the pinfall, the referee saw the brass knuckles on Owens’ hand and disqualified him.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Cody Rhodes

Order of entry:

Jey Uso

Jimmy Uso

Grayson Waller

Andrade

Carmelo Hayes

Shinsuke Nakamura

Santos Escobar

Karrion Kross

Dominik Mysterio

Carlito

Bobby Lashley

Ludwig Kaiser

Austin Theory

Finn Balor

Cody Rhodes

Bronson Reed

Kofi Kingston

Gunther

Ivar

Bron Breakker

Omos w/ MVP

Pat McAfee

JD McDonagh

R-Truth

The Miz

Damian Priest

CM Punk

Ricochet

Drew McIntyre

Sami Zayn

Final Four: Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and Gunther

In the closing moments of the match, Punk surprised McIntyre near the ropes and hoisted him up on his shoulders and dumped him out of the ring. Next, Rhodes dragged Gunther by his head and pulled him over the top rope leaving Punk and Rhodes. Punk then attempted the Go To Sleep, however, Rhodes escaped and tossed Punk out to win for the second year in a row.

Following the match, Rhodes directed his attention to the skybox, where Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman were seated, and pointed at The Tribal Chief setting up a rematch of their encounter from last year’s Showcase of the Immortals.