Courtesy of WWE
WRESTLEMANIA XL NIGHT ONE REVIEW
- Rob Crowther, Editor In Chief
Expectations were high as we head into what may prove to be the GREATEST WrestleMania of all time. Night one of WrestleMania XL emanating from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA, proved to be a night full of memories, moments, and more.
Our opening match saw The Man, Becky Lynch challenge Rhea Ripley for the WWE Women's World Championship in one hell of an opening match. This was the perfect opener, and I honestly wonder if it will make Kenny Pete's Top10 WrestleMania Openers list here on the site. I was absolutely blown away by Motionless in White 's LIVE performance of Rhea's entrance theme. One for the ages in fact. Nevertheless, Rhea and Becky put on a clinic! Watch it for yourself, but Rhea did the Rip-tide to Becky on the Buckle and then another for the win. Rhea's title should prove to be a historic one, but this definitely begs the question, what's next for Becky Lynch.
The second match of the night was one of my personal most anticipated matches, the 12 man ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships. Bonus points to DIY who paid homage to DX with their gear and some classic super kick and modified pedigree/fairy tale ending moments. Classic Matt Hardy table spots ala the infamous TLC matches, innovative offense by The New Catch Republic, and a super early Smackdown Tag Team Championship win for A-Town Down Under. The Raw Championships would be captured by an emotional R-Truth and Miz, who embraced at the top of the ladders.
Up next, Rey Mysterio and his new partner Andrade took on Santos Escobar and Dominik Mysterio in a grudge match. Mysterio looked fantastic and is still performing at a very high level. Great work by everyone involved, and of course the LdF and LWO got their stuff in. Joaquin Wilde performed his always impressive slingshot shooting yards across The Linc into the LdF. Fun surprise moment when two masked men attacked Dominik Mysterio to help Rey get the win after an amazing Frog Splash ala Eddie Guerrero. The two men revealed themselves to be Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson of The Philadelphia Eagles.
The third ever Brother VS Brother WrestleMania match was up next, and Jey and Jimmy had a solid one on one. Great entrance for Jey who was accompanied by Lil Wayne and had the whole crowd raising their hands in the air. This match was exactly what you'd expect with plenty of "YEET"(s) for every one of Jey's Strikes. Jey took this one with a frog splash turning in mid-air.
The gear of the night went to the team of Jade Cargil, Bianca Belair, and Naomi who also had a stellar entrance. The trio absolutely ran through DMG CTRL in quick fashion, but Cargil honestly dominated. It doesn't need to be reiterated, but Jade looks like an absolute star, and continues to live up to all the hype. The future is beyond bright. Sky is the limit.
A potential show stealer in Sami Zayn VS. the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time. Really nice moment pre-match with Sami and his family. Right before Sami walks through the curtain he is fired up by Kevin Owens, which was absolutely perfect. I've said it many times, but Sami Zayn is so underrated, and in my mind is the MVP of a lot of this recent long term storytelling. I didn't see Sami winning this one as Gunther dominated early and often. But then you got that moment of hope for Sami. And from that point on, that hope never died. You thought Sami had a chance. And Sami went on to hit not one, but two Helluva Kicks on Gunther. Those two kicks were enough to FINALLY dethrone Gunther as Sami Zayn walks out of The Linc your NEW IC Champion. Hats off to both competitors, and a feel good moment for the very worthy Sami Zayn.
In a very classy move SmackDown GM Nick Aldis, and RAW GM Adam Pierce thank the live crowd and announce the Night One attendance at 72,543 !! We also get our first pyro of the evening.
Heading into the main event of night one, you can only assume that we are going to come down bigtime after several massive feel good moments. Great entrance for Cody as he gave his weight belt to his father-in-law who is currently going through Chemotherapy. Rollins made his was to the ring with unique attire as always, and this is coming from myself, who has zero fashion sense. The crowded sang along the whole way.
Conversely, The Final Boss, The Rock's Entrance was absolutely insane. The Rock walked through an essential ring (or Brahma Bull) of fire, carrying his new People's Champion Title presented to him by the widow of the late Muhammed Ali. Amazing graphics and music as always. The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns made his way to the ring last, and rightfully so. The Head of the table walked down the entranceway with with purpose accompanied by WWE HOFer Paul Heyman.
Match Opens with SHIELD members Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns with a slow, methodical pace. Cody wants the tag early and he gets it. The methodical pace continues as we get a sneak peak at Roman VS. Cody for tomorrow night. Next up, Seth Rollins tags in , as does The Rock. We get our first look at The Rock in the ring in some time. Rock overpowers Seth, but Seth outwrestles the Rock. Great dynamic here. Rock gets in some offense and taunts Cody. Cody tags in. Cody gets a flurry offense, and Seth and Rhodes are in full control, taking the fight to the outside. The match turns into an all out Falls Count Anywhere vibe, as the fight continues around the arena and up the ramp respectively. Also, there is an absolutely BRILLIANT moment when The Rock tells the referee to stop counting. Technically The Rock is his boss, so this tracks.
After the brawl outside involving bottles of Prime, garbage cans, and more, the action finally spills back into the ring. The Rock continues to lay into Rollins and essentially does whatever he wants, because he's controlling the officials as a member of the board for TKO. The official even apologizes to Rhodes. Cody then slaps The Rock again, and Rocky also receives a curb-stomp from Seth Rollins. Cody lays in a Disaster Kick and Cody Cutter to Roman. Roman reverses a Cross Rhodes sequence into a bigtime Superman Punch. Along the way Roman is busted open and has some amazing facials before missing a spear. Nice blind tag and frog splash combo from Rollins. Not enough to stop Reigns though. Rocky pulls the official out of the ring, and Roman hits a spear on Cody. Cody has enough to kick out. Roman locks in the Guillotine submission and Rhodes begins to fade. Rollins makes the save with a curb-stomp on Roman. Rocky gets the weight belt and taunts Mama Rhodes. Cody is able to retaliate and sinks a Cody Cutter on Rock but Roman makes the save before Cody can hit the Cross Rhodes. Roman goes for the spear and in a picture perfect moment Seth makes the save and Roman spears the Rock. Cody and Seth hit simultaneous pedigrees on the cousins. It's still not enough.
Seth takes out Roman on the outside and Rocky tries to put Cody through the announce table, but Cody is able to put The Rock through the announce table with a Rock Bottom of his own. On the outside Roman spears Seth through the barrier, and all four men are down.
Roman and Cody slowly make their way back to the ring and slug it out with everything they have left. Cody goes for a trifecta of Cross-Rhodes, but The Rock breaks it up with the weight belt. Roman hits the spear, and tags in The Rock. The Rock hits the People's Elbow dedicated to Mama Rhodes for the win.
After a near perfect night of highs and lows, It's Bloodline Rules tomorrow night, and we'll all be tuning in to see if Cody finally finishes the story.
WrestleMania XL Continues Tomorrow Night at 7pm EST On Peacock