For quite some time now, I knew that Cody Rhodes finally defeating Roman Reigns and bringing an end to the Tribal Chief’s historic Undisputed WWE Universal Championship run was going to be nothing short of magical. And the WrestleMania 40 main event didn’t disappoint with its perfect combination of great in-ring showmanship and an absurd number of run-ins, which wasn’t that shocking considering the match’s ridiculous build the past couple of months. But what shocked me was how the rest of the two-night card delivered way more than it had to.
The Rock said to “expect the unexpected” with Bloodline Rules WWE Championship match, but Dwayne Johnson’s sentiments could also be used to describe the feeling of the other 12 matches that preceded WWE’s answers to the epic Avengers: Endgame battle. And I know I said this last year, but we very well could have just experienced the best WrestleMania this weekend.
What Shocked Me About The WrestleMania Saturday Card
Though WrestleMania Saturday was essentially booked around the long-awaited return of The Rock when he teamed up with Roman Reigns to take on Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins to decide the stipulation for Sunday’s main event, there were some stellar and downright shocking moments up and down the card.
Though the Uso vs. Uso match and Jade Cargill’s Mania debut were about what I expected them to be, the rest of the card had me shocked and on the edge of my seat. From Rhea Ripley being the only member of The Judgment Day to leave Mania with their title still around their waist to the Undisputed Tag Team Championship being split up to recently retired Jason Kelce showing up in a luchador mask, there were a lot of big surprises in the preliminary fights.
But the “Granddaddy of Them All” when it comes to shockers on Night One was Sami Zayn beating Gunther and ending his record 666-day Intercontinental Championship reign after delivering one hell of a brainbuster from the turnbuckle. Wrestling fans lost their ever-loving minds, and for good reason – it was up there with Lesnar ending Undertaker’s streak in terms of being shocking!
However, nothing could compare me to what would follow not even 24 hours later…
What Shocked Me About The WrestleMania Sunday Card
Weary from the night before (they weren’t kidding with the “Biggest WrestleMania of all Time” gimmick), I was expecting an okay-to-good card before the main event. But instead of getting a series of matches to pass the time, I witnessed what could very well be the best three-and-a-half hours of wrestling WWE has produced in ages.
The night got off to a killer start with the World Heavyweight Championship match that saw Drew McIntyre defeat Seth Rollins in brutal fashion. But before I had time to catch my breath, CM Punk was attacking the newly crowned champ, which was followed by Senor Money in the Bank Damian Priest successfully cashing in his contract. And at that moment, a great evening turned into a legendary night.
What followed was a series of outrageously fun and satisfying matches ranging from hellacious street fights to intense one-on-one contests to perhaps one of the best triple-threat matches in years. The WWE Women’s Championship match between former Damage CTRL running mates Iyo Sky and Bayley exceeded my expectations too.
And while I’m not going to go into the details about the over-the-top and bonkers (in a good way) Night Two main event contest that saw Cody Rhodes being carried around the ring like Bret Hart at WrestleMania 10 after he finally beat Roman Reigns, I was shocked by how well it was pulled off without entering late-stage WCW territory.
All in all, this is a weekend I won’t soon forget. Not just for the conclusion of the Cody Rhodes story or how it got me thinking about the future of The Rock, Roman Reigns, and the Bloodline, but because of all the surprises and incredible wrestling I got to watch over two nights. I’m not sure how next year’s WrestleMania will stack up against what just happened, but there are plenty of great upcoming WWE events on the horizon to get something set up for the next “Showcase of the Immortals.”
