ABOVE: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (RIGHT) defeated the Uso Brothers in the main event at Saturday's WrestleMania 39.
SoFi Stadium is something to behold. The venue has hosted big events like the Super Bowl, the College Football National Championships, and many concerts, including multiple sold-out nights of BTS and The Rolling Stones. Having attended several WrestleManias (and watched them all), the main stage at WrestleMania Goes Hollywood was stunningly designed, featuring Oscar-themed red carpets and cinematic posters of WWE stars.
It was enjoyable to watch the crowd file into the stadium before the event began. Fans worldwide converge annually at WrestleMania, and this year was no different; all age groups were represented in the diverse audience.
The anticipation for this event is huge, as big as the Oscars, the Super Bowl, the Grey Cup, Game 7 of the World Series, or any other big event. While WWE hosts shows globally year-round, there is something extraordinary about this one. If you are a WWE superstar, you want to be here, and if you’re a fan who can’t make it, you're most likely having a WrestleMania party.
The event kicked off with WWE superstar The Miz and Snoop Dogg getting the crowd hyped for the event.
Austin Theory defended his United States title against the returning John Cena. Theory has said in many interviews that Cena inspired him to get involved with WWE. While the referee was knocked unconscious Theory hit a low blow on Cena and successfully defended his title.
In a thrilling four-team tag team match, The Street Profits debated Braun Stroman and Ricochet, The Alpha Academy, and The Viking Raiders.
Next up, Seth Rollins and social media celebrity Logan Paul faced off. Logan Paul has been making Seth’s life hell over the past few months, interrupting and interfering in his matches; this was an opportunity for Rollins to get retribution.
Rollins made his well-known entrance to the ring as the crowd sang along to his theme song. Since this is WrestleMania, he had an orchestra conductor helping the crowd along.
After a fantastic match, Seth Rollins ended the night for Paul by stomping his head into the canvas. While many have mixed feelings about Logan Paul, Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque (WWE’s Head of Creative) put it this way—he has no right being this good. He is a very talented in-ring performer.
Next up was a six-woman tag team match. Damage Control (Bailey, Iyo Sky, and Dakota Kai) against Becky Lynch, Lita, and Trish Stratus. Lita and Trish Stratus are both Hall of Famers and have recently returned to in-ring competition. Lita and Lynch are the current WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Lynch, Lita, and Stratus had a very cool intro that channeled Sin City movies.
The match was entertaining, but in the end, it was Trish Stratus, Lia, and Becky Lynch getting their hands raised after Lynch pinned Bailey.
Father versus son was next as Rey Mysterio took on Dominik. Dominik turned on his father months ago and begged for a match, but it wasn’t until he started yelling at his mother (Rey’s wife) that his wish was granted.
Mysterio, who entered the Hall of Fame on Friday night, brought the crowd to its feet with his entrance. Dominik tried to introduce a steel chain into the match, but music superstar Bad Bunny, who was a guest commentator, stopped him allowing Rey Mysterio to pick up the win. ‘Coincidentally’ Bad Bunny will feature on the next WWE pay-per-view, which will be in Puerto Rico.
Charlotte Flair, the daughter of Ric, defended her Smackdown Women’s title against the winner of the 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble, Rhea Ripley. Charlotte has already had a Hall of Fame career, and coming into the event, the feeling was it was Rhea’s time. The WWE has a solid women’s division, and these two incredible superstars are great ambassadors to prove it.
Charlotte had a match with Ripley three years ago at WrestleMania, and it was an instant classic. But, the match took place when the world was shut down, without an audience. That wasn’t the case Saturday night; over 80,000 watched the match live. In another fantastic match, Ripley was triumphant. As Rhea celebrated with the title, Charlotte, while sitting outside the ring, clapped and smiled as if to signify the changing of the guard in the women’s division.
The main event for night one was next as the Tag Team title was defended as the longtime champion Uso Brothers (Jimmy and Jey) defended their titles against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, both from Montreal. In February at the Elimination Chamber, Zayn came close to defeating Roman Reigns for the Universal Title and has since been on a collision course with the Usos. This storyline has been a primary focus of WWE programming over several months. Sami’s character development has been fantastic to watch.
This was the second time in WWE history that a Tag Team match was in the main event of WrestleMania and the first time the tag team title was showcased as the main event. This speaks to the emotional capital that fans have invested in this storyline. The match delivered in every aspect. The capacity crowd of SoFi Stadium was taken on an emotional rollercoaster through the match, as it could have gone either way so many times. In the end, Sami Zayn delivered three Helluva Kicks (his finishing move) to Jey Uso and pinned him, ending the 622-day title reign of the Usos.
The crowd erupted with emotion as Sami and Kevin celebrated being the new champions.
That was just night one. Rest up. Night two is hours away!
Photo: Courtesy WWE