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 Wrestlemania 39 Night One

By Steve Ward

World Wrestling Entertainment elected to go for the mega cash grab business model again for this year’s Showcase of the Immortals once again as they would emanate two nights in a row from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California - likely because they no longer generate revenue from pay-per-view buys and sold off the WWE Network to Peacock. Nonetheless, what would typically be a five to six hour mega event has now been split into two shows. Night One would feature eight matches with three titles contested and the main event pit The Usos against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship.

United States Championship

John Cena vs. Austin Theory (c)

Winner: Austin Theory via pinfall

The show surprisingly kicked off with the return of John Cena to a WWE ring following another prolonged absence as he answered the challenge of the brash Austin Theory. Cena made a solid showing in the ring with little evidence of ring rust, however, Theory prevailed in the end. Cena had Theory on his shoulders and inadvertently knocked the referee out. Cena proceeded to cinch in the STF prompting a tapout from Theory to no avail as the referee had still not recovered. As Cena attempted to revive the referee, Theory struck him with a low blow followed by the A-Town Down to retain his championship.

Wrestlemania Showcase Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match

Ricochet & Braun Strowman vs. The Viking Raiders w/ Valhalla vs. Alpha Academy (Otis & Chad Gable) vs. The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)

Winners: The Street Profits via pinfall

This match not only allowed WWE to fit more Superstars onto the card but also would serve to designate who the next team in line for a tag team title opportunity would be. In the closing moments, Ricochet attempted the Shooting Star Press only to land on Angelo Dawkins’ raised knees and Montez Ford proceeded to dive from the top turnbuckle to drive Ricochet’s face into Dawkins’ knees again setting up the pinfall.

Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul

Winner: Seth Rollins via pinfall

Logan Paul first eliminated Seth Rollins from the Royal Rumble Match, then cost him a victory in the Elimination Chamber, and has trolled him endlessly culminating in their encounter tonight at Wrestlemania. Seth Rollins withstood outside interference from KSI, the GTS, and a frog splash to turn around and hit the curb stomp to pull out the victory.

Becky Lynch, Lita, & Trish Stratus vs. Damage Ctrl (Bayley, Io Sky, & Dakota Kai)

Winners: Becky Lynch, Lita, & Trish Stratus via pinfall 

Following their shocking victory over Io Sky and Dakota Kai to claim the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles several weeks ago with the backing of Trish Stratus, a bitter rivalry has continued to fester leading us to tonight’s encounter. The crowd seemed disinterested in this match during the early going but in the closing moments they would become much more engaged as Lita executed a Litasault from the top turnbuckle and then Becky Lynch hit the Manhandle Slam from the second rope on Bayley to claim the pinfall victory for her team.

Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio

Winner: Rey Mysterio via pinfall

After he abandoned his father to join The Judgement Day, Dominik Mysterio has continued to try everything in his power to goad his father into a match at Wrestlemania. Rey continuously rejected his son’s attempts until Dominik disrespected his mother at ringside recently on Smackdown. That leads us to their confrontation tonight following Rey’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame last night in Los Angeles. Rey appeared to be in dire straits with the appearance of The Judgment Day at ringside but The Legado del Fantasma and Spanish announce table guest commentator Bad Bunny evened the odds. In the end, Rey hit the 619 and immediately followed up with the frog splash to seal the victory over his son.

Smackdown Women’s Championship

Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley

Winner: Rhea Ripley via pinfall

Following her victory in the Women’s Royal Rumble match, Rhea Ripley elected to challenge Charlottle Flair in an attempt to avenge her Wrestlemania loss in 2020. Neither of these competitors left anything in the ring as each exhausted their entire arsenals but in the end, Ripley executed the Riptide from the turnbuckle to finally put away Charlotte Flair to become the new Smackdown Women’s Champion.

The Miz vs. Pat McAfee

Winner: Pat McAfee via pinfall

The hosts of Wrestlemania, The Miz and Snoop Dogg, made their way to the ring to announce the attendance and The Miz proceeded to claim he made an open challenge that no one responded to. Pat McAfee then surprised the crowd to accept. With an assist from San Francisco 49er George Kittle, McAfee finished The Miz off with a punt to the head to claim victory.

WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship

The Usos (c) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

Winners: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn via pinfall

Following his dismissal from The Bloodline, Sami Zayn pled with Kevin Owens for weeks to team with him to gain revenge on The Bloodline finally wearing him down and bringing us to tonight’s contest for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship. In the closing moments of the match, Sami Zayn gained retribution on Jey Uso and The Bloodline as he executed three consecutive Helluva Kicks to allow him to cover Uso for the pinfall as new Undisputed Tag Team Champions were crowned.

WWE Survivor Series 2020

By Steve Ward

The month eight pay per view of the Quarantine Era emanated from the Thunderdome in Orlando, Florida as WWE presented the 34th annual Survivor Series. This evening’s card was labeled “Best of the Best” as each contest pit RAW against Smackdown meaning there were several champion versus champion matches with nothing at stake. The most significant event of the evening, however, was the “Final Farewell” of The Undertaker after 30 years with the company. Personally, I think it’s a metaphorical slap in the face to the Deadman to commemorate the legendary career, of arguably the most loyal performer who is largely responsible for keeping WWE alive during the Monday Night Wars, in front of the dystopian virtual WWE Universe instead of in a sold out arena.

5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Match

Team RAW (AJ Styles w/ Omos, Matt Riddle, Keith Lee, Braun Strowman, & Sheamus) vs. Team Smackdown (Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, Otis, Seth Rollins, & King Corbin)

Sole Survivors: Team RAW

The first elimination of the match came in bizarre fashion as Rollins “sacrificed” himself to a Brogue Kick from Sheamus leading to his pinfall. Team RAW continued their momentum as a series of Stunners delivered by Kevin Owens was abruptly halted by AJ Styles with a Phenomenal Forearm followed by a pinfall. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for Team Smackdown, King Corbin fell victim to a moonsault delivered from the top turnbuckle by Matt Riddle for the third consecutive elimination of a member of the Blue Brand team. Otis then gave Strowman a run for his money but it wasn’t enough as The Monster Among Men hoisted him up before he could propel himself from the top turnbuckle and delivered a ring shaking power slam leaving Jey Uso alone. Jey Uso under the impression that Styles was the legal man had not seen the blind tag made by Keith Lee. As Uso dove off the top rope with Styles in his crosshairs, Lee intercepted Jey by catching him on his shoulders and proceeded to break him in half with a Spirit Bomb to solidify a clean sweep for Team RAW.

The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)

Winners: The Street Profits via pinfall

The second bout of the main card pit the Smackdown Tag Team Champions, The Street Profits, against the RAW Tag Team Champions, The New Day. If I’m being honest, the most entertaining aspect of this match was when it dragged on way too long and it became apparent that fake crowd noise was being filtered in as the audible reaction did not match that of the demeanor of the virtual fans. The conclusion to this clash commenced as the Street Profits executed a Blockbuster on Xavier Woods which allowed Angelo Dawkins to seal the victory for his team with the pinfall.

Sami Zayn vs. Bobby Lashley w/ The Hurt Business - MVP, Shelton Benjamin, & Cedric Alexander

Winner: Bobby Lashley via submission

The third contest of the evening saw the United States Champion, Bobby Lashley, square off with the Intercontinental Champion, Sami Zayn, in yet another non-title contest. The majority of this match was comprised of Zayn complaining to the referee about The Hurt Business at ringside in between spurts of Lashley absolutely dominating the Intercontinental Champion. Lashley finally trapped the constantly fleeing Zayn in The Hurt Lock for the submission victory.

Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

Winner: Sasha Banks via pinfall

The struggle for brand supremacy continued as the RAW Women’s Champion, Asuka, battled the Smackdown Women’s Champion, Sasha Banks. The primary question posed by this match would be if Banks could finally conquer the Empress of Tomorrow - a woman she had never pinned or submitted dating back to their days in NXT. In a match riddled with a plethora of knee strikes and submission attempts by each competitor, the conclusion arrived after a flurry of pinfall attempts by each woman which ended in Banks finally rolling up Asuka for the victory.

Women’s 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Match

Team RAW (Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Lacey Evans, Peyton Royce, & Lana) vs. Team Smackdown (Bayley, Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, & Natalya)

Sole Survivor: Lana

The first elimination of the match finally arrived as Peyton Royce hit the Déjà Vu on Bayley for a rather shocking pinfall. Next, Natalya promptly evened the odds as she cinched in the Sharpshooter on Royce for the submission elimination. Natalya then became distracted by Baszler which allowed Lacey Evans to hit the Woman’s Right on Neidhart for yet another elimination. Shayna Baszler next tied up Ruby Riott with the Kirifuda Clutch during which she passed out allowing The Queen of Spades to pin her. Another quick elimination evolved as Liv Morgan quickly pinned Lacey Evans with a Crucifix rollup. Morgan, unable to carry any momentum moving forward, was no match for Nia Jax who then entered the bout and quickly laid waste to Liv with a Samoan Drop. Belair, now on her own, was quickly trapped by Baszler in yet another Kirifuda Clutch. Belair proceeded to carry Shayna on her back to the ropes to prompt a break. Baszler refused to break the hold by the referee’s five count hence leading to her swift disqualification. Following Baszler’s dismissal from the match, Nia Jax and Belair proceeded to brawl outside the ring and ended up being counted out so Lana, who had been banished by Jax and Baszler to stand on the ring steps and not participate in the match, ended up as the sole survivor.

Roman Reigns w/ Paul Heyman vs. Drew McIntyre

Winner: Roman Reigns via submission

Drew McIntyre shocked the WWE Universe this past Monday on RAW when he defeated Randy Orton to regain the WWE Championship he just lost last month at the Hell In A Cell pay per view. This set the stage for the main event of the evening as WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre, went toe to toe with the Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. Reigns appeared to be in dire straits late in the bout as he was met with a Claymore Kick when attempting another spear, however, he was propelled into the referee who was knocked out of the ring. Roman’s cousin Jey Uso then made his way to ringside causing enough of a distraction for Roman to hit McIntyre with a low blow. Reigns then cinched in a guillotine choke that knocked out the WWE Champion and solidified the submission victory.

The show concluded with the final farewell to the Undertaker. Before the Deadman made his way to the ring, several legends were introduced including Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Kane, Triple H, Rikishi, The Godfather, Savio Vega, Mick Foley, and The Godwinns, in addition to a few words offered by Vince McMahon. The Undertaker spoke briefly, said it was time for “The Undertaker to rest in peace” and slowly exited the arena. In my opinion it was rather anticlimactic and, while he made his debut at Survivor Series, one could say a more fitting farewell would have been in front of a record-setting crowd at Wrestlemania - the event that made him famous with the streak. With that being said, one can never say never in the world of professional wrestling.

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WWE Clash of Champions 2020

By Steve Ward

For the September installment of the WWE “Quarantine” Era, Clash of Champions - Gold Rush (apparently adding a tag line to the name of each pay per view is a thing in WWE much like the days of each In Your House having a special subtitle) emanated this evening from the Thunderdome within the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. I find it interesting how the state of Florida has allowed events to admit masked spectators while operating at 25% capacity yet WWE has not followed suit like AEW and the Jacksonville Jaguars still electing for virtual fans and what I suspect, based on tonight’s audible crowd reactions not exactly syncing with the virtual fans on-screen behavior, to be manufactured fan noise. Nonetheless, this evening’s seven match card only featured title bouts so names such as Seth Rollins, Rey Mysterio, Bray Wyatt, and Braun Strowman were noticeably omitted from the show.

WWE Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match Jeff Hardy (c) vs. A.J. Styles vs. Sami Zayn Winner: Sami Zayn In the midst of Jeff Hardy and A.J. Styles’ recent feud over the Intercontinental Title, Sami Zayn made his return from injury recently with the title he never lost in tow. With Zayn declaring himself the true champion since he vacated the title due to injury and Styles being the next in line for an opportunity, what better way to settle the score and declare an undisputed champion than in a triple threat ladder match? The most awe inspiring moment of the match came late as a ladder was suspended between the ring apron and announce table with another towering ladder standing beside it. With Sami Zayn laid out on one ladder, Hardy scaled the other and executed a picture perfect Swanton Bomb from the top that broke Zayn in half and obliterated the ladder. In the closing moments, Zayn procured two sets of handcuffs from his jacket. First, he handcuffed Jeff Hardy to a ladder on the floor at ringside, not by his hand, but by the gauge in his ear - let that sink in a moment. Zayn then took the other set and first handcuffed himself to Styles. Styles decided to scale the ladder with a beaten Zayn on his back in a fireman’s carry. Halfway up the ladder, Zayn pulled a key from his mouth, unhooked himself from Styles, and attached the Phenomenal One to a lower rung on the ladder. This allowed Sami to ascend to the top of the ladder and retrieve both belts suspended above the ring crowning a new champion in what was sadly a rather pedestrian match for the most part.

RAW Women’s Championship Asuka (c) vs. Zelina Vega Winner: Asuka via submission Quite frankly this match materialized out of nowhere. Asuka had been begging for more competition for several weeks and following a successful defense of her title against Mickie James on RAW a few weeks back, Vega came out of nowhere to challenge the Empress of Tomorrow two weeks ago. In the closing moments of the bout, Asuka cinched in the Asuka Lock to retain her title.

WWE United States Championship Bobby Lashley (c) w/ MVP & Shelton Benjamin vs. Apollo Crews w/ Ricochet Winner: Bobby Lashley via submission This bout marked the latest installment in the ongoing feud between Apollo Crews and The Hurt Business. Aside from losing his title recently to Lashley, things became even more personal as Apollo’s cohort Cedric Alexander betrayed him and subsequently joined MVP’s ranks in The Hurt Business. Bobby Lashley was able to withstand an impressive frog splash from Crews as he solidified the defense of his title by locking in The Hurt Lock, his version of a full nelson, for the tap-out. RAW Tag Team Championship The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) (c) vs. Andrade & Angel Garza Winners: The Street Profits via pinfall In a rivalry that’s been ongoing since before Wrestlemania, Andrade and Garza challenged for the RAW Tag Team Championship…again all while claiming things would be different this time since parting ways with Zelina Vega. It was also entertaining to hear the commentators allude to the fact that the Street Profits were tired of facing this team considering the fact that WWE has dismantled their tag team division this year with the releases of The Revival, Gallows & Anderson, Hawkins & Ryder, and The Authors of Pain (AOP). That coupled with a serious injury to half of the Viking Raiders and the division is now in shambles. In the closing moments of a rather uneventful contest, Dawkins executed his version of D’Lo Brown’s Sky High on Andrade and proceeded to pin him. Andrade kicked out after two, however, the referee blew the count and struck the canvas a third time for the pinfall - whether this was a legitimate error or work should become clear tomorrow night on RAW.

WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship

Bayley (c) vs. Asuka

Winner: Asuka via DQ

Bayley made her way out to the ring and announced that Nikki Cross was unable to compete and therefore forfeited her title opportunity. After proclaiming a half-hearted open challenge, Bayley proceeded to celebrate her “victory” when no one initially answered the call. Suddenly Asuka’s music echoed through the arena to challenge Bayley’s 349 day championship reign. As Bayley felt she was losing her grip on the title, she assaulted the RAW Women’s Champion with a steel chair leading to a disqualification and abrupt end to the match.

Following the bout, Bayley was ambushed by Sasha Banks who emerged from “the crowd” with her neck brace on and a steel chair in hand. The two proceeded to brawl in the ring until Banks ended the confrontation with some semblance of revenge as she peppered Bayley with several kendo sticks strikes.

WWE Championship Ambulance Match

Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton

Winner: Drew McIntyre

The bitter rivalry between McIntyre and Orton entered another chapter this evening in the form of an Ambulance Match. The purpose of this match is quite simple…incapacitate your opponent to the point where you can shove him into the back of an ambulance and shut the doors. After Randy Orton incapacitated McIntyre early, he sized him up for the RKO, however, a hand grabbed him by the ankle from outside the ring. The masked individual revealed himself as The Big Show, a man victimized by Orton over the summer. Big Show dragged Orton out of the ring and chokeslammed him through the announce table before exiting. Later in the bout, the brawl spilled to the backstage area where once again Orton was ambushed as the tide turned in his favor, this time by Christian, allowing the champion to take control again. As the fight gravitated back towards the ambulance, Orton again found himself in control standing alone on top of the vehicle. Before Orton could act, Shawn Michaels greeted him with a Sweet Chin Music and shoved him off the ambulance. The final moments saw McIntyre first execute a Claymore Kick and then throw Orton into the ambulance. Rather than immediately close the ambulance doors, Drew first exacted revenge by way of a punt to the head. After closing the ambulance doors, the final victim from Orton’s summer Legend Killer tour, Ric Flair, was revealed as the ambulance driver as he hauled Orton out of the arena.

WWE Universal Championship

Roman Reigns (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. Jey Uso

Winner: Roman Reigns

Following an injury to Big E, Jey Uso found himself in a fatal four way match recently on Smackdown with Sheamus, Matt Riddle, and King Corbin. Jey pulled off a stunner as he emerged victorious hence pitting him against his own real-life cousin, Roman Reigns. Now I understand that WWE was trying to tell a story while establishing Roman Reigns as the top heel in the company as he beat and berated his cousin but it was a bit of overkill and quite frankly translated into the worst match on the card. This bout came to it’s merciful conclusion as Jimmy Uso hobbled to ringside and threw in the towel for his brother calling an end to the match.

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WWE Summerslam 2020

By Steve Ward                                                                                                                                              

As we approach the end of month six of the “Quarantine Era,” WWE Summerslam emanated this evening from their new temporary home - the WWE Thunderdome (can you say copyright infringement?). The introduction of this new venue came from the boss himself, Mr. McMahon, this past Friday night on Smackdown. For those who are unaware, the Thunderdome is actually the Amway Center in Orlando, the normal home of the Orlando Magic, with large video screens lining the arena seats with the faces of fans watching from home on their webcams - if I’m being honest, I appreciate the effort and it is nice to see a show held in an arena, however, it also reminds me of a ‘90s sci-fi movie set in a dystopian future. Nonetheless, the show which held the tag line “You won’t see it coming” featured a card of seven matches with five titles defended.

Smackdown Women’s Championship Asuka vs. Bayley (c) Winner: Bayley via pinfall

Over the past two weeks, Asuka found herself earning an opportunity at not only one, but both, of the top women’s titles in WWE. First, she defeated Bayley recently on RAW to earn a shot against Sasha Banks for the RAW Women’s Title and then a women’s battle royal on Smackdown to also earn an opportunity at Bayley’s Smackdown Women’s Title. Asuka clearly controlled the tempo of this entire bout, however, the number’s game proved to be the deciding factor. In the closing moments, Bayley was in dire straits hung up on the ropes as Asuka propelled herself at her. At the last second, Banks pushed Bayley out of the way and took the shot for her. This opened the opportunity for Bayley to roll up a distracted Asuka for the pinfall.

RAW Tag Team Championship The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) (c) vs. Andrade & Angel Garza w/ Zelina Vega Winners: The Street Profits via pinfall

Late in the contest Vega climbed to the ring apron to attract the attention of the referee as Ford was propelled into the ropes by Angel Garza knocking her to the floor. This prompted Andrade to attend to Vega leaving his partner high and dry. Garza was overwhelmed by The Street Profits with Ford ascending to the top rope for an impressive splash that solidified their victory.

Loser Leaves WWE Match Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville Winner: Mandy Rose via pinfall

The months of drama between the former Fire & Desire cohorts finally culminated this evening in a Loser Leaves WWE No Disqualification Match. Sadly, the most entertaining part of this match was Mandy Rose’s futile effort to flip a table upright after opening the legs. This bout reached it’s merciful conclusion as Rose drove a running knee into the cranium of Deville allowing her to secure the pinfall victory and sending Deville packing - could she appear in AEW in 90 days???

Street Fight Dominik Mysterio w/ Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins w/ Buddy Murphy Winner: Seth Rollins via pinfall

Over the past few months we’ve witnessed the unfolding of an ugly rivalry between Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins that not only saw Rey “lose his eye” at Extreme Rules but also have his son Dominik drawn into the fold. Following a vicious kendo stick beating at the hands of Rollins and Murphy recently on RAW, this bout came to fruition and also marked the in-ring debut of the young Mysterio. Dominik Mysterio made a solid showing in his debut WWE match including the execution of a frog splash early in the contest, however, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Monday Night Messiah. In the final moments of the bout, another window of opportunity opened for Dominik as Rollins and Murphy became preoccupied with Rey and handcuffed him to the ropes. Dominik proceeded to take down Rollins and scaled to the top turnbuckle for another frog splash attempt. This time Dominik was met with a pair of knees to the midsection followed by a curb stomp that sealed the victory for Rollins.

RAW Women’s Championship Asuka vs. Sasha Banks (c) w/ Bayley Winner: Asuka via submission

After losing her bid at championship gold earlier in the evening, Asuka made her way back out to the ring to square off with Sasha Banks. As we approached the conclusion of this match it appeared the number’s game would again be the determining factor in the contest as Bayley this time saved Banks from Asuka. Banks proceeded to cinch in the Bank Statement, however, Asuka was able to roll through and reverse it into the Asuka Lock for the submission victory.

WWE Championship Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

Following weeks of revisiting his “Legend Killer” persona with attacks on Christian, The Big Show, Ric Flair, and Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton found himself in the position for a shot at his 14th World Championship against the man who dethroned Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania, Drew McIntyre. This hard-hitting contest ended in rather shocking fashion. McIntyre couldn’t land the Claymore Kick, then Orton’s attempt at an RKO was thwarted only to see McIntyre win with an underwhelming backslide pin to retain the title.

WWE Universal Championship Falls Count Anywhere Match Braun Strowman (c) vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt Winner: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt via pinfall

Following the Swamp Fight at Extreme Rules last month, we saw the reemergence of The Fiend and the darker side of Braun Strowman. After weeks of mind games between the two, we arrived to a Falls Count Anywhere Match for the Universal Championship tonight. Braun attempted to pull out an additional stop to put away Wyatt ass he used a box cutter to remove a portion of the ring canvas and padding to expose the wood planks, however, it backfired as he was met with the Sister Abigail as Wyatt regained the title. After the end of the match, Roman Reigns emerged from out of nowhere to lay waste to both Wyatt and Strowman after several months out of action declaring that he was the true owner of the title.

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Wrestlemania 36 - Part Two

By Steve Ward

WWE returned again this evening from the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida with night number two of Wrestlemania 36 - yes, I continue to number them. For whatever reason, WWE decided a few years back to leave the number off of Wrestlemania each year as if it dated the event and made it more antiquated. I personally respond to that by saying, “Doesn’t the Super Bowl still use the number system?” If nothing else, labeling this event as it should be, Wrestlemania 36, demonstrates the longevity of the company and it’s ability to continue to cater to it’s target audience. Nonetheless, now that I’m off my soapbox, this evening should prove like last night to offer some shocking moments - particularly in the title matches. This evening’s event offered eight matches on the main card highlighted by Brock Lesnar squaring off with Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship.

NXT Women’s Championship

Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair

Winner: Charlotte Flair

Following her victory in this year’s Royal Rumble match, Charlotte was called out by NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley and in a shocking turn of events accepted her challenge. This also marks the first time that an NXT title would be defended on the grandest stage of them all. Rhea Ripley came to bring the fight to Charlotte tonight but it wasn’t enough. Charlotte systematically dismantled the left knee of Ripley for the duration of the contest until she couldn’t withstand any more punishment. In the final moments of the match, Charlotte cinched in a figure four leglock that she was able to transition into the Figure Eight for the submission victory.

Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley w/ Lana

Winner: Aleister Black via pinfall

In a classic “we didn’t know what else to do with these competitors so we’ll book them against each other” match, Aleister Black looked to maintain his recent momentum against one of the worst utilized superstars in the company, Bobby Lashley. Lashley used his overwhelming strength to impose his will upon Black for the majority of the match, however, Lana proved to be the ultimate deciding factor. Lashley had Black on his shoulder poised to finish him when Lana ordered her “husband” to spear him. This proved to be Lashley’s fatal flaw as he was unceremoniously met with a Black Mass kick to the mouth which allowed Black to seal the victory.

Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler w/ Sonya Deville

Winner: Otis via pinfall

This match represented absolutely nothing other than revenge. After Dolph and Sonya sabotaged Otis’ Valentine’s Day date with Mandy Rose, Otis made it a point to take out his frustrations on Ziggler after the truth was recently revealed on Smackdown. Otis appeared poised to finish his quest for revenge with the Caterpillar until Sonya intervened and opened the opportunity for Ziggler to strike him between the uprights. Moments later, Mandy Rose made her way to ringside where she slapped the taste out of Sonya’s mouth and with referee Charles Robinson distracted, she slid into the ring and returned the favor to Dolph. Otis proceeded to execute the Caterpillar and solidify his victory.

Last Man Standing Match

Edge vs. Randy Orton

Winner: Edge

Following Edge’s miraculous return at the Royal Rumble after a nine year hiatus due to what was once thought to be a career ending injury, Randy Orton turned on and brutally assaulted Edge the following night on RAW. This violence only escalated a matter of weeks later as Orton again struck - this time with Edge’s wife, Beth Phoenix, as the victim. With all of the events that have transpired, it only seemed fitting that this would culminate in a Last Man Standing Match. Randy Orton wasted no time bringing the fight as he jumped Edge with an RKO Outta Nowhere and then another as soon as the bell rang. This would be the last of the action at ringside as the remainder of the bout spilled over into several backstage areas of the Performance Center. The Rated R Superstar was finally able to put The Viper down for the referee’s ten count after their backstage brawl escalated to the top of the trailer of a semi-truck. Edge delivered a spear to Orton and then utilized a pair of steel chairs to deliver a Conchairto to seal the deal.

RAW Tag Team Championship

The Street Profits vs. Austin Theory & Angel Garza w/ Zelina Vega

Winners: The Street Profits

In another questionable booking decision, The Street Profits defended their titles against the makeshift team of Austin Theory and Angel Garza. Austin Theory attempted a late pinfall on Angelo Dawkins when Montez Ford launched himself from the top turnbuckle onto Theory’s back allowing Dawkins to steal a pinfall.

Smackdown Women’s Championship Fatal Five-Way

Sasha Banks vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Bayley (c)

Winner: Bayley via pinfall

After belittling Paige recently on Smackdown Live, Bayley found herself defending the title against four other women certainly stacking the odds against her. Tamina, after imposing her will for much of the early going, was the first eliminated after the other four competitors ganged up on and dog piled on her for the pinfall. Naomi was the second eliminated after she tapped out to the Bank Statement applied by Sasha Banks. This presented another numbers game as Lacey was left to fend for herself against Bayley and her cohort Sasha Banks. Banks soon became the recipient of an inadvertent knee from Bayley leading to some infighting between the two. Lacey capitalized on this and knocked out Sasha Banks with a Woman’s Right allowing her to eliminate The Boss leaving us with our final two participants. Lacey seemingly was moments away from winning her first title after landing the moonsault, however, Sasha Banks reemerged and drilled Evans with a backstabber. Bayley then took advantage and finished off The Sassy Southern Belle to retain her title.

Firefly Funhouse Match

John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

Winner: The Fiend???

Before John Cena was able to declare his absence from Wrestlemania this year, The Fiend intervened and posed a challenge which the 16-time champ aptly accepted. The match was declared a Firefly Funhouse Match - one that nobody had a clue what it would entail heading in. This ended up being a glorified montage of WWE and WCW pop culture references along with a brief history of Bray Wyatt and John Cena that concluded with The Fiend taking Cena down with the Mandible Claw as Bray Wyatt counted the pinfall.

WWE Championship

Brock Lesnar (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. Drew McIntyre

Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

Drew McIntyre’s long journey to the main event of Wrestlemania became a reality after he derailed Brock Lesnar’s torrid elimination streak on his way to winning this year’s Royal Rumble match. Tonight he stepped toe to toe with The Beast, this time with the top prize in sports entertainment on the line. Lesnar’s efforts to manhandle McIntyre were briefly stunted as he answered with a Claymore Kick. This motivated Lesnar as he proceeded to take Drew to Suplex City and delivered three consecutive F5s - all of which were followed by failed pinfall attempts. Brock’s fourth F5 was reversed by McIntyre who answered with three consecutive Claymore Kicks - the last of which allowed him to stun the champ as he pinned him in front of a speechless Paul Heyman.

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