This past weekend, WrestleMania 42 took place. WWE’s biggest event, it was held for the second consecutive year at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here are my favorite moments from Wrestlemania Saturday.
THE ISHOW SPLASH: The opening match for Wrestlemania Saturday was a six-man tag team match that saw the trio of The Usos and LA Knight take on the trio of Austin Theory, Logan Paul, and Paul’s YouTube friend, IShowSpeed (not a trained wrestler). As the match proceeded, miscommunication between Speed and his teammates led to them losing the match. Afterward, Paul and Theory turned on Speed, but The Usos and Knight saved the day. They laid out Logan Paul on the announce table at ringside. What happed next was incredible! IShowSpeed climbed the ropes and delivered a frog splash that the late, great Eddie Guerrero would’ve been proud of. He went flying through the air and crashed onto the Logan Paul and through the table! It was an incredible feat for someone who isn’t a trained wrestler!
PAIGE COMES HOME: Another match we saw on Wrestlemania Saturday was a fatal four-way match for the Women’s Tag Team Championship. The match saw defending champions Nia Jax and Lash Legend, known as The Irresistible Forces, go up against teams of Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss; Bayley and Lyra Valkyria; and The Bella Twins. However, one-half of the Twins, Nikki Bella, was injured in the weeks leading up to the event and was not cleared to compete at Wrestlemania. However, the WWE always has a plan B. They re-signed former WWE Divas champion, Paige, who returned as Brie Bella’s replacement partner at Wrestlemania. Paige made her WWE main roster debut in 2014 and quickly became one of the top stars of WWE’s women’s division. However, just a couple of years later, her career was set back by personal controversies and a severe neck injury. Paige was eventually cleared to compete and spent the last few years wrestling in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) before re-signing with WWE just before Wrestlemania. Everything she went through makes her return on the biggest stage of them all all the more special. And the icing on the cake is Paige and Brie Bella are your new Women’s Tag Team champions!
ROLLINS VS GUNTHER: Up next was my favorite match from Saturday: Seth “Freakin’” Rollins vs. Gunther. This match may have been thrown together in haste because original plans for both men at the event fell apart. But that didn’t stop The Visionary and The Ring General from putting on a classic! Rollins’ fast and flashy style meshed perfectly with Gunther’s more gritty and ruthless style. The action was crisp, fast, and intense as the two had battled for their pride and love of the game —nothing more, no titles, no championships — just pride. In the end, Rollins was attacked by the man who is rumored to have been his originally planned opponent on the show, Bron Breakker, who was returning from injury. The interference from Breakker cost Rollins the match, and Breakker attacked Seth again after the match with a running spear down the entrance ramp. The match was excellent with a great ending that keeps Gunther looking strong, and keeps the feud between Rollins and Breakker alive!
BIANCA’S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: WWE legend John Cena served as the host for Wrestlemania 42. Before the main event of the Saturday portion, Cena was in the ring to announce the official attendance for the evening. There he was joined by former multi-time WWE Women’s champion, Bianca Belair, who has been injured and out of action for the better part of a year. She then stunned the crowd by telling Cena that he needed to add one more to the announced attendance figure. That’s because she and her husband, Montez Ford of the tag team The Street Profits, are expecting a child. Congratulations!
A CONFUSING AND CHAOTIC MAIN EVENT: The main event for Wrestlemania Saturday saw Cody Rhodes defend the Undisputed Championship against Randy Orton. However, the match also featured celebrity involvement from ESPN’s Pat McAfee, who was in Orton’s corner, and recording artist Jelly Roll, who was in Rhodes’ corner. Before the match could even begin, McAfee tried to attack Rhodes, but was outsmarted by Rhodes, who hit him with the Crossroads and laid him out on the announce table. Jelly Roll then hit an elbow drop on McAfee, sending both men through the table. All of this took place before the match got underway! And if that wasn’t strange enough, things got even stranger!
Cody, who was supposed to be the face (good guy), began targeting Orton’s bad back, a rather heelish (bad-guy-like) tactic. The match was going well enough when the referee was taken out, and McAfee reappeared, complete with a neck brace and wearing a referee shirt. Orton then hit an RKO on Rhodes, and McAfee began to count until Rhodes kicked out. Then, in very Randy Orton fashion, Randy hit an RKO on McAfee, his own man, before being hit with Cody’s crossroads finish and pinned for the 1, 2, 3, with (thankfully) the actual referee back in the picture.
After the match, Orton attacked Rhodes, hitting him with his signature punt kick to the head and creating a shocking final moment for Wrestlemania Saturday. The match was chaotic and at times, confusing, but entertaining nonetheless.
(Stay tuned for Part Two!)
