Wrestlemania 41 Sunday Results & Review

We are live from the Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada for the second night of WWE’s flagship event, Wrestlemania. John Cena shocked the world by turning his back on the fans, will he shock the world again and become a record 17 time world champion? Will Iyo Sky prove her worth as champion against powerhouses Bianca Belair & Rhea Ripley? Can Penta demonstrate Cero Miedo against 3 other competitors to win his first title in WWE? All that and more, here are some quick predictions

The opening video package recapped last night and hyped up this show. Stephanie McMahon calls WWE a family and welcomes us to Wrestlemania. Michael Cole has now commentated on more Wrestlemania shows than anyone else in history. Neither Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky or Bianca Belair got that special of an entrance. Rhea had a cool crown/mask thing she wore for like 10 seconds before taking it off.

World Women’s Championship

To the surprise of everyone, Iyo Sky defeated Rhea Ripley to win the Women’s World Championship on Raw, although not without controversy. Rhea blames Bianca Belair’s presence as an intentional distraction which ultimately cost her the match. This feud has been centred around the intense rivalry building between Bianca and Rhea, with the champion being pushed out of their conversations very disrespectfully. Iyo keeps standing up for herself and demanding respect, even if she has to get physical. After Rhea vs Iyo ended in a No Contest with Bianca as the referee, Adam Pearce books this as a triple threat.

The match begins like the feud has been building, Rhea and Bianca arguing and ignoring Iyo. The champ refuses to be shoved away and takes the fight to them. Rhea takes Iyo out and we get a mini singles between her and Bianca. There are some good triple threat sequences early on, Iyo hitting a double blockbuster thing looked awesome. The story throughout this match is Bianca and Rhea being more focused on each other than on Iyo which the Genius of the Sky takes advantage of. Rhea countered a double foot stomp by holding Iyo’s foot, I haven’t seen that before and it is real smart. Bianca back suplexes both Rhea and Iyo off the top turnbuckle and we have a triple down.

Iyo gets hyped up but then murdered by Bianca’s spear. Belair hits the 450 splash for a near fall. Rhea drops Bianca with the Riptide for a near fall. Iyo counters the Riptide into a DDT! Rhea and Iyo trade finisher reversals, Iyo falls into Bianca’s KOD and Rhea breaks the pin. Brilliant sequence there. Bianca trash talks Rhea and says she is better than her, Rhea spits at her. Bianca and Rhea trade counters, the EST finally hits another KOD but in comes Iyo with the Moonsault to pin Bianca and win!

Analysis

A Grade – Wow. What a brilliant match. People have complained about Iyo Sky’s booking but they have done a brilliant job. Iyo Sky came into the match as an underdog champion and the fan favourite. She took advantage of the bad blood between her competitors and she was the winner. Great storytelling in a great match. All 3 wrestled a hot match together. This had nail-biting near falls galore and any woman could have won. Sunday is off to a great start.

A warrior looking Drew McIntyre entrance features a massive stone with a helmet and a shield on it. Apparently he is dressed as Doom Slayer, because of course this match is sponsored by Doom: The Dark Ages. Damian Priest gets played to the ring by Slayer’s Kerry King. A shame that the audio did not pick it up properly until the end, it sounded a bit shit for a while. The entrance looked awesome though with the fire and a metal performance.

Drew McIntyre vs Damian Priest, Sin City Street Fight

This feud goes back to last year’s Wrestlemania when Damian Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on recently crowned Heavyweight champion McIntyre after an attack from CM Punk. Then, at Clash in the Castle in Scotland, Damian Priest retained his Heavyweight title against Drew thanks to another attack from CM Punk. Drew calls Damian a snake who has capitalised off his misfortune. I thought it was smart how they connected the events of Wrestlemania XL to this match.

As expected, this is a wild fight. McIntyre attacks before the bell and the action spills outside immediately. Priest launches steel steps at Drew’s head. Priest pulls out the table but Drew uses the steel steps. Drew McIntyre takes his brother’s phone from ringside and takes a selfie with a downed Priest. McIntyre pulls out 2 tables. Drew clotheslines Priest out of the ring and hits a huge terminator dive to the outside. Priest counters a Claymore by throwing a chair but Drew hits the Claymore anyway. Drew wears Priest out with a chair. Damian counters a Claymore with a chokeslam whilst a chair is wrapped around his neck. Priest uses the chair to deliver a beat down. Priest hits a Razor’s Edge through a table for a near fall.

McIntyre hits the Future Shock on top of the steel steps for a near fall. Drew counters Old School shoving Priest through two tables on the outside! McIntyre hits a Claymore into Priest’s head into a chair trapped in the corner to win the match.

Analysis

B+ Grade – Wrestlemania Sunday is now already better than Saturday. This was a great war between these 2 beefy rivals, putting each other through physical hell to prove they are the better warrior. McIntyre winning is the right result and I hope that he moves up into world title feuds for the rest of this year.

Michael Cole tries to tell us that Penta says that riding in the Good Year blimp is the highlight of his career so far. Yeah right. Penta enters and he is insanely over. Dominik Mysterio enters wearing his father’s mask and he struggled to take it off.

Intercontinental Championship

Bron Breakker is in his second reign as IC champion which he won from Jey Uso on Raw in October. Penta has had an impressive start to his WWE career since debuting in January. The big story in this match though is the fractures within the Judgment Day. There has been a clear power struggle between Finn Balor and Liv Morgan for a long time and recently we have seen Dominik Mysterio step up and make decisions for the Judgment Day. Mysterio and Balor have been playing nice, but the end of the Judgement Day as we know it is on the horizon.

Dominik and Balor start the match working together against their opponents. Penta takes them both out of the ring and hits a huge dive. Breakker emerges from no where pouncing like a tiger. He is a freak athlete. Breakker spears Penta in mid-air, powerslams Balor and spears Dominik! Balor breaks up the pin. This match is unfortunately sponsored by Dude Wipes. Penta traps the Judgment Day in the corner and hits a double basement dropkick. Sacrifice by Penta to Balor. He goes for the Penta Driver but Bron suplexes both men. Dominik hits the 3 Amigos on Penta, getting help from Balor on the third. Breakker suplexes both men simultaneously.

Breakker throws Judgment Day around, he hits Balor with the Frankensteiner for a near fall. Balor takes out Penta, Dominik dropkicks Balor and goes for the 619, Balor catches it! Balor stomps Dominik out, Penta hits the Penta Driver but Bron breaks the pin. Penta hits Mysterio with a Mexican Destroyer but Carlito pulls him off the pin. He tries to take out Penta, but Bron spears Carlito through the announce table! “I think Carlito’s dead!” Cole had me dying. Breakker spears Penta, Mysterio hits Breakker with a 619, Balor prevents the frog splash. Balor Coup De Grace to Breakker, Mysterio with a frog splash to Balor and he wins the gold!!

Analysis

B+ Grade – I knew this match was going to be good but holy hell I did not expect this. Bron Breakker continues to prove he is a wrestling machine. Penta had a great showing in his first Wrestlemania match. They told the story between Balor and Mysterio brilliantly and I am all in on Dominik as IC champion.

The crowd popped hard for the result, Dominik even ran back to the ring to celebrate. They could turn Dom face again if they wanted to that is how loud the cheers were. I hope they don’t though, his heel run has been great. Props to all the guys especially the freak Bron. Also Carlito for taking another Breakker spear, this time through a table. I imagine Bron will be on the road to being a world champion.

Randy Orton vs ???

This will be Randy Orton’s 20th Wrestlemania appearance. He was in a feud with Kevin Owens, but KO is injured with a serious neck injury so Orton is without an opponent. He called out anyone to accept his challenge at Wrestlemania. There have been numerous theories and rumours of Solo Sikoa, Nick Aldis or maybe a surprise return.

Randy Orton makes his entrance first and he awaits his opponent who he promises to give a Wrestlemania moment with the RKO. “SAY HIS NAME AND HE APPEARS!” JOE BLOODY HENDRY IS AT WRESTLEMANIA!!! The TNA World Champion Joe Hendry! Scotland’s own, who I have seen rise from the independent scene all the way to TNA and WWE has finally arrived at Wrestlemania. This is awesome!!!

‘We Believe’ chants ring out through Vegas. Hendry counters the RKO into a near fall. Hendry fires up and tries a chokeslam but Orton fires back with powerslams. Orton drops Hendry with the apron hung DDT. Hendry counters the RKO with a Fallaway Slam, he turns and smiles to the crowd but he gets hit with a RKO! Orton wins in quick fashion. He picks Hendry up and raises his hand to the crowd, before dropping him with another RKO. Orton does the Joe Hendry spin to the hard cam into an RKO pose. Good fun.

Analysis

C Grade – This was short but it was exactly all it needed to be. Joe Hendry getting onto Wrestlemania is a highlight of itself. He got a couple of minutes to get some moves in but considering NXT is in competition with TNA, they won’t be portrayed as on the level with WWE’s biggest stars. Randy Orton gets a win in his 20th Wrestlemania appearance as expected.

Logan Paul holds a drone and vlogs his entrance before letting it go. We get a 9-cam shot of Logan Paul’s entrance. I felt like I was at work watching security cameras. Logan catches the drone camera again which I admit is a cool shot. Def Rebel is getting credit for AJ’s theme, even though this theme is the one he had when CFO$ was producing for WWE. Michael Cole claims the loathing towards Paul is due to jealousy of his ability. Nah bro, he is a shitty person.

Logan Paul vs AJ Styles

Logan Paul eliminated a returning AJ Styles from the 2025 Royal Rumble. After a series of confrontations, these 2 were set up for a match. I was disappointed not to see AJ Styles in a programme with Bron Breakker, they teased it! I guess it could still happen sometime this year.

AJ and Logan have a good feeling out process which the former comes out on top off. AJ traps Logan in the apron and beats the hell out of him. Paul takes control by sending AJ into the ring post. Paul takes out Styles with a springboard crossbody to the outside. Logan grabs his drone camera to mock AJ and we watch him beat down AJ from drone cam. Logan hits a frog splash for a near fall. He hits an Overbomb for another near fall. Paul channels his inner Hulk Hogan to hit the big boot and a split-leg drop. Good heel heat. Paul hits a springboard moonsault for another near fall. Logan is in firm control over AJ but Styles finally fires back with the Ushi-Goroshi.

They trade finisher counters, Logan hits one of the most impressive Lionsault’s I have ever seen. Logan hits the Buckshot Lariat for a near fall. Logan hits AJ with the Styles Clash! AJ rolls through the pin into a Clash of his own. One of Logan Paul’s friends tries to give brass knuckles to Logan but he is stopped by, Karrion Kross? Kross puts the knuckles at ringside and tells Styles to use them and get rid of Logan. Styles throws them away and drops Kross. Paul dodges the phenomenal forearm, hits the punch and then the Paulveriser to win.

Analysis

C+ Grade – This was a well contested match between these 2 but underwhelming. Considering the performances we have seen from Logan in the past, I expected this to be a fast paced contest but this was slow. A long beat down by Logan, an AJ comeback and then a screwy finish. It felt like an extended TV match at times.

Karrion Kross’ interference added the most excitement into this match but it didn’t really amount to anything. The brass knuckles didn’t even get used. Logan winning was the correct booking decision but the match should have been better.

Michael Cole announces WWE: Unreal which will be a Netflix documentary about the WWE writing process and other backstage stuff in WWE. That could be cool.

Women’s Tag Team Championships

Not much to say about this. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez won the titles from Bianca Belair and Naomi in February on Raw. IC champion Lyra Valkyria and Bayley joined together to win a tag gauntlet match to become number 1 contender. That is pretty much it. Bayley unsuccessfully challenged Lyra for the IC championship on Raw, they’re friends because…they’re both faces? However, Bayley was attacked backstage on the Wrestlemania Countdown so Lyra has to find herself a new partner to challenge for the titles. Who will it be?

Lyra comes out and she looks so happy to be at Wrestlemania and her wings looked pretty cool. Her partner? BECKY LYNCH!! Ireland are showing up strong here tonight. Lynch’s last opponent was Liv Morgan who has claimed she retired The Man. Congruent storytelling. Lynch and Lyra take down Raquel together. The champs get control when Liv throws Lyra off the top into a big boot. The IC champion gets beaten down by Liv and Raquel, who do a good job keeping Lyra and Becky separated. Valkyria battles back and gets a tag to Becky Lynch. The Man takes the fight to her opponents, she gets Liv in a Disarmer but Raquel makes the save.

Morgan hits Oblivion on Becky but Valkyria breaks the pin. Lyra takes out Raquel with a tornado DDT on the outside. Lynch catches Morgan with the Manhandle Slam and gets the pin to win. Lynch and Valkyria celebrate.

Analysis

C+ Grade – This was simple but it didn’t need to be complicated. The return of Becky Lynch was the main moment and she comes back in grand fashion. A solid tag match here elevated by the surprise.

I love seeing wrestlers enjoy their work and it was clear both Lyra and Becky were incredibly happy to have this match and win tag gold together. A nice moment for Lyra for sure who is now ‘Lyra 2 Belts’. I look forward to seeing what Becky Lynch gets up to in the latest chapter of her career.

GLASS SHATTERS! Here comes Stone Cold Steve Austin! He rides his 4 wheeler to the ring and he crashes into the barricade! That woman did not look happy. I would be honoured to be ran over by Steve Austin. He hits his catchphrases and announces the attendance of the night. 63,226. He demands a recount so he will do it himself. Austin starts counting and the fans chant what each time. He makes it to 18 before giving up. The total over the weekend is 124,693. He grabs a couple ‘Steve-weisers’ and does his iconic beer bash celebration. Even Nick Khan is at ringside talking to the woman, probably trying their best to avoid a lawsuit. Wade Barrett and Pat McAfee both chug beers on camera.

John Cena’s entrance has no videos or flashy-ness. Simple a blacked out arena with the words John Cena written on every screen. Bleak, simple and effective. Cody Rhodes gets an entrance with smoke and dirt bikers. His skull mask pops over like an Iron Man mask which looked awesome. Cody’s mother, sister, wife and daughter are in the front row.

Undisputed WWE Championship

John Cena won the Elimination Chamber to get here, but not before selling his soul to The Rock and beating up Cody Rhodes. We have heard for weeks John Cena’s pent up hatred for wrestling, it’s fans and Cody Rhodes being the WWE champion. He is threatening the entire future of the WWE championship by defeating Cody at Wrestlemania then taking the title with him to Hollywood, retiring as the last real WWE champion. Cody Rhodes’ quest is to protect the WWE championship from Cena and make sure it belongs to the fans.

Cody outwrestles Cena early on. Cena takes advantage with a cheap shot and he beats down Cody. John Cena spends a lot of his time looking at the crowd and showing his disgust. He begins the 5 moves of doom. He goes for the 5 knuckle shuffle but Cody uses an eye poke and hits a powerslam. Cena counters the Bionic Elbow attempt and hits an Attitude Adjustment for a near fall.

John Cena hits a Super AA from the top rope, Cody kicks out. Cena has stopped smiling and he looks surprised. Cody catches Cena in mid-air with a powerbomb for a near fall. Cena counters the Cross Rhodes into a third AA and he locks in the STFU. I haven’t heard commentary call it the SFTU in years. Cody escapes but kicks Cena into the referee. Cody hits the Cross Rhodes but no official is there to count the pin. Cena exposes a turnbuckle and sends Cody head first into it. Cena hits a fourth AA, Cody kicks out!

Here comes Travis Scott. Travis takes his sweet time going to the ring. Rhodes hits the Cross Rhodes on Cena but Travis pulls the referee out of the ring. Rhodes drops Travis with a Cross Rhodes! Cody stops Cena using the title to cheat, he goes to use it himself but Cena begs him off. Rhodes shows weakness, Cena low blows him and whacks him with the WWE title. Cena pins Cody and wins a record 17th world championship.

Analysis

C Grade – No Rock? Really? It felt like a layup to have The Rock appear but I guess he is busy making bad movies. Why would The Rock make himself such a primary part of this story but not show up at Wrestlemania to see it out. Travis Scott coming out was not an exciting surprise and it is clear it should have been The Rock in this role.

This was a fine match focused on storytelling rather than have the best match on the show. However, the match was incredibly slow and not a lot happened other than a bunch of AA kick outs. John Cena spent the match over-confident and mocking the fans but he realised that Cody was a lot tougher than he expected. Eventually, he had to rely on Travis Scott’s interference and cheating to capture his record breaking 17th world title.

Cody Rhodes has been willing to match his rivals intensity throughout his title reign. His last major feud with Kevin Owens, they beat the crap out of each other but all of a sudden Cody is too stuck on doing the right thing to beat Cena? Cody comes across incredibly naïve and weak, even after kicking out of 4 AA’s.

John Cena is ruining wrestling, I get it, but there is an exciting way to tell this story. It did not have to end this way. An unfortunate disappointing end to an unfortunately disappointing Wrestlemania.

John Cena celebrates with Travis Scott and trash talks the fans some more as the show comes to a close.

Final Thoughts

B- Overall Grade – Wrestlemania 41 will go down as one of the most disappointing Wrestlemania’s of all time. Again, not a bad show, but far below the bar we have grown accustomed to. On Sunday, the show got off to a fantastic start with the first 3 matches being awesome. The Joe Hendry appearance was fantastic even if short. However, the show slowly nose dived in the second half of the show and ended with an incredibly underwhelming main event.

Did you miss my Wrestlemania Saturday review? Here is a link to check it out!