After the longest WrestleMania season ever, we finally arrived at WrestleMania 41. Many old stories came to a conclusion, and many new stories were born. Many new champions were crowned, while many retained their titles. WrestleMania 41 wasn’t just about matches—it was about power shifts, surprise betrayals, and long-overdue moments finally arriving. Let’s talk about it:
Night One
The stage looked amazing. They fully utilized the Allegiant Stadium setup. Triple H kicked off WrestleMania by welcoming the fans. The crowd throughout the night was good, cheering at the crucial moments.
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Gunther vs Jey Uso
After Jey Uso won the Royal Rumble 2025, many doubted he was the right choice. But Jey proved all of them wrong. The build was very slow at first because the Mania season was almost 11 weeks long. But they picked it up towards the end when Jimmy Uso got involved. Gunther made it very personal after beating up Jimmy. After that, we saw a different Jey, with no “yeeting.” He was ready to face Gunther.
The match was pretty solid, consistent with their previous encounters. It was a clash of styles. Jey had a lot to prove, and he did that. He wrestled very differently from his usual style. The match told a compelling story: Jey was no longer afraid of Gunther. He was laughing when Gunther was inflicting pain upon him through chops. Jey used only two superkicks in the whole match. He even countered a Gunther powerbomb with his own powerbomb. The finish came when Jey hit Gunther with a superkick, a spear, and three splashes. Gunther tapped out, giving Jey his first World Heavyweight Championship win. The finish may raise some doubts in many fans’ minds; perhaps Gunther should have tapped out a few moments later. But this is not a major issue for me. I am very happy that Jey has finally finished his story. Hopefully, he now gets a memorable reign, unlike his Intercontinental Championship reign.
World Tag Team Championship Match: War Raiders vs The New Day
WWE offered no clear justification for why this match was on the Mania card while the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match was not. People were talking about Big E’s return, but even that didn’t happen. The match was fine. A title change was also needed. But few seemed to care because it didn’t have any build or story. I still believe the SmackDown Tag Division deserved the Mania spot instead of this.
Jade Cargill vs. Naomi
A non-title women’s singles match at WrestleMania. Yes, this felt special. The months-long investigation into Jade Cargill’s attack may have seemed prolonged, but when she returned to reveal Naomi as the attacker, the storyline ignited. The Naomi heel turn has worked like a charm for her. For the first time, she looks like a main eventer. The brawls, the promos, the chaos between these two and Bianca made for a perfect build.
This was also Jade Cargill’s singles debut on the biggest stage. She stood on her own in the spotlight. They both delivered a match that did justice to their amazing feud. They both came out looking better. Jade winning here was a good decision; she can go on to do bigger things. Naomi also didn’t look weak in defeat. Her character is so good now that if they keep her momentum going, she could emerge as one of the best women’s heels of all time.
United States Championship Match: LA Knight vs Jacob Fatu
The US Championship scene had gone quite soft for a while. It seemed they were going to do a multi-man match. But Jacob Fatu won a #1 contender’s match after feuding with Braun Strowman. The story leading up to it wasn’t that special. But this match was unexpectedly awesome. They succeeded in waking up the crowd. It was the best match of the night apart from the main event.
Both men got their moment to shine. They had incredible chemistry with one another. They had an incredible moment where Fatu went for a springboard moonsault only to get caught in a BFT in mid-air. It was awesome. Fatu winning his first championship was a great moment. He is the future of the company. He looked like a million bucks without making LA Knight look weak.
El Grande Americano vs. Rey Fenix
This El Grande Americano character has been a delight to watch over the weeks. He was supposed to face Rey Mysterio, but Mysterio got injured on the last SmackDown. So he was replaced by another Rey, Rey Fenix. Americano came out with a grand Mexican-themed entrance, and it was hilarious.
From start to finish, the match was just an absolute blast. It could have been a classic if they had more time to prepare. They were pulling off moves never seen before. They looked like they had faced each other several times. It was a great match, with El Grande Americano getting the win. I am glad they are continuing with this character. Rey Fenix also looked great, making his WrestleMania debut only two weeks after his WWE debut. The future of Lucha Libre looks promising with WWE purchasing AAA.
WWE Women’s Championship Match: Tiffany Straton vs. Charlotte Flair
This dream match was predicted by fans even before Tiffany Straton won the championship. So when Charlotte Flair won the Royal Rumble, it was just a formality to see who she would choose. The buildup wasn’t that good, apart from one promo where they both went beyond the script into their personal lives. This made me excited for the match, and heck, it’s Charlotte and Tiffany. Of course, they were going to put on an awesome match.
And they did just that. The match was hard-hitting from the get-go. Maybe if you expected them to deliver the best women’s match of all time, then of course you were going to be disappointed a bit. But I feel like they delivered what they promised. And the fact that Charlotte put Tiffany over on the biggest stage of them all speaks volumes. The future is very bright for Tiffany, and I am very excited for what’s ahead for her.
CM Punk vs Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins
This was the feud that beautifully utilized the full 11 weeks of the WrestleMania build. The way they incorporated three of the company’s megastars – CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins – and Paul Heyman into the story was brilliant. The way the story favoured CM Punk and the mind games played by Seth Rollins demonstrated great storytelling. The match had a very big-time feel with all three big entrances, especially the CM Punk one. Finally, he had fulfilled his dream of main-eventing WrestleMania.
The beginning of the match saw Rollins and Punk on the outside beating each other with trash cans and chairs. Reigns performed a giant leap over the barricade to take them both out and bring the match back into the ring. It felt like 20 minutes of just insane kickouts. All three men absorbed every finisher imaginable and kicked out. It was a finisher fest.
The finale of the match started when Rollins tried to convince Roman to team up to powerbomb Punk, only for Reigns to say, “Screw you.” He powerbombed both Rollins and Punk on his own through the announce table. This signaled that he would never join Rollins or The Shield again. That chapter was over.
The big moment was when Heyman came up with a chair and gave it to Punk. As Punk was about to hit Roman, Heyman low-blowed Punk. He then handed the chair to Reigns, who proceeded to beat CM Punk with it. Heyman then pointed towards Rollins, who was by the ropes in the perfect position to get hit by Roman. When Roman was about to hit Rollins, then came the biggest surprise of the night: Heyman revealed his hand, low-blowed Roman, aligning himself with Seth Rollins. That’s something I didn’t think was going to happen. Seth Rollins then hit Roman with the same chair and ended the match with a Stomp. That’s how Night 1 ended, leaving so many questions unanswered.
Night Two
Stephanie McMahon kicked off Night Two of WrestleMania. The crowd seemed more electric this night.
Women’s World Heavyweight Championship Match: Iyo Sky vs Bianca Belair vs Rhea Ripley
Night 1 ended with a triple threat, and Night 2 started with one. The story leading to this was multilayered. Could Rhea Ripley redeem herself? Could Bianca Belair prove her dominance again in the singles division? Could Iyo Sky hang with two of the best in the business and come out on top? On paper, this match was supposed to be the best match of the night, and it was exactly that.
The combination of the strength of Bianca and Rhea alongside the insane agility and creativity of Iyo Sky made for a really pleasant match to watch. It was made even better by the fact that Iyo won – something I wasn’t expecting to happen. I love the ending to this match, which included all three women. Bianca was about to pick up the victory after hitting Rhea with the KOD, only for Iyo to appear out of nowhere with a moonsault, hit both of them, and then pin Bianca. The women’s division is so stacked, and with more NXT callups coming soon, I am very excited for Iyo’s reign moving forward.
Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest: Sin City Street Fight
This feud was the perfect example of making great work out of what you have. People were really upset over Drew McIntyre going from the Bloodline Bounty Hunter storyline to this match at the biggest show. Damian Priest isn’t bad per se, but Drew deserved something better. But the way both of them put effort into it and made everyone care about this feud was commendable.
It was a tough spot for them following that incredible triple threat, but I think they managed to deliver a fun Street Fight. It had tables, chairs, high-stakes spots, and even the recreation of last year’s tweet moment. The ending came when Priest got up on the top rope but took too long before being pushed by McIntyre through two tables outside the ring. McIntyre dragged Priest back into the ring and then Claymored Priest into a chair set up in the ropes, winning the match. Solid match.
Intercontinental Championship Match: Bron Breakker vs Dominic Mysterio vs Finn Balor vs Penta
This was a rare situation where anyone could win, and no one would complain. Maybe that’s foolish of me to think, as the IWC will find anything to complain about. This was a very entertaining, fast-paced match.
It was no surprise that Judgment Day members were there to work together, but that didn’t seem to save the two from Breakker and Penta. Dominik Mysterio turned on Balor, first going for the 619, but it was caught by Balor, who then began stomping down on Dom. It became an every-man-for-himself match. Carlito tried to get involved to take out Penta but was then speared by Breakker through a table. Finn went for the pin on Breakker, but then Dom frog-splashed them both and pinned Balor to become the new Intercontinental Champion.
This was the best and most well-deserved moment from either night of WrestleMania this year. Dom has been one of the most consistent heel acts in the company for the longest time. He plays the slimeball heel just so well. And up until yesterday, he had just been there as a side act to Rhea and Liv. But now he has finally won main roster gold himself, and I couldn’t be happier for the guy. The future is here.
Randy Orton Open Challenge
Kevin Owens was scheduled to fight Randy Orton, but he got injured. After that, there were many rumors about Aleister Black, Rusev, and even Nick Aldis. But we saw the TNA World Champion Joe Hendry answer the challenge. It was a very well-kept secret that didn’t leak. A short, sweet, and perfect match. Hendry put up a bit of a fight, but in the end, he got RKOed. After the match, Randy Orton showed some respect to Joe Hendry and then made him eat one more RKO. Many people are saying they buried Joe, but I don’t think that’s the case. He got exposure to the whole world and got to share the ring with a legend like Randy Orton at WrestleMania. Surely this is not the last time we will see Joe Hendry in a WWE ring.
Logan Paul vs. AJ Styles
This feud wasn’t anything special. It depended on the promise that both Logan Paul and AJ Styles would put up a classic full of viral moments. That wasn’t the case either. It wasn’t the typical Logan Paul match. It didn’t feature any viral high-flying movement or the Prime bottle shenanigans. They tried to showcase Logan as an in-ring wrestler. But the pace was extremely slow, and everything looked choreographed. It lasted almost 20 minutes, but they never got into that second gear. They need to find the perfect balance between Logan Paul the wrestler and the social media star. Logan Paul won the match after AJ refused to use brass knuckles offered by Karrion Kross.
Women’s Tag Team Championship Match
WWE seems to have no long-term plan for the Women’s Tag Team and the mid-card titles. That’s why the Tag Team championships were defended in a seemingly last-minute, put-together match where the Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria competed for them. Meanwhile, the US Champion, Chelsea Green, was nowhere to be seen. And to make matters worse, they appeared to fake an injury to Bayley to give the spot to the returning Becky Lynch. It also felt disrespectful to Liv Morgan, considering her tremendous year. The match was nothing special. They seemed to be waiting for the Becky Lynch hot tag, and after that, we saw the new Women’s Tag Team Champions crowned. They need to work more on the women’s tag team and mid-card divisions.
Undisputed WWE Championship Match: Cody Rhodes vs John Cena
The moment we’ve all been waiting for: potentially John Cena’s last WrestleMania moment. Could John Cena win his 17th World Championship? The Heel Turn at Elimination Chamber will be remembered as one of the crucial moments of wrestling. During the build, Cena explained why he turned on the fans. But his limited schedule and The Rock not showing up hurt the momentum of the feud.
John Cena came out with a fully black-and-white themed Titantron. Cena dominated and played with Cody Rhodes for most of this matchup. But no matter what Cena tried to do, Cody continued to find a way out. Cody hit Crossroads on Cena, but the ref was out, so no one was able to make the count. Cena exposed the steel turnbuckle, knocking Cody into it multiple times. John Cena hit him with a fourth AA, but it was still not quite enough.
Travis Scott then arrived. Everyone was waiting for when The Rock’s music would hit. But it never did. Cody hit Crossroads and went for the pin, only for Travis Scott to pull the ref out of the ring. Cody hit Scott with a Crossroads. John Cena attempted to hit Rhodes with the title, but Rhodes snatched it. Cody decided not to hit Cena with the belt. Cena low-blowed him and then got the pin. John Cena became the WWE Champion for the 17th time.
So was the match as bad as people are talking about? No. Was this the worst WrestleMania main event? Absolutely not. But the fact that John Cena’s historic 17th title win and Cody’s year-long reign just ended with the interference of a 140-pound rapper is mind-boggling. And you know who couldn’t be bothered to show up at WrestleMania? The Rock. It’s Mania! He couldn’t even show up for the story that he’s a key part of. Like, they could have just had Cena turn heel without any help from Rock or Scott. Mania was a good show, no thanks to The Rock or Travis Scott.
How was WrestleMania 41 as an overall show?
We have to acknowledge that WrestleMania 40 was a once-in-a-lifetime event. You can’t go into every show with that level of expectation. This Mania surely suffered from that comparison. The Cena-Cody Main Event was underwhelming, sure. But Night One’s main event – Punk, Roman, and Rollins – was a masterclass of excellence. Jey Uso finally finished his story. Dominik won, receiving organic face cheers. Iyo Sky and Tiffany Straton got to retain their titles. Overall, WrestleMania 41 was an above-average show. There were plenty of great matches and amazing moments that will be talked about in the days to come. We have so much to look forward to. How will Cena’s 17th title reign be? How will Jey Uso’s 1st title reign be? What will happen with Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman moving forward? What’s next for Iyo Sky and Tiffany Straton? How will LA Knight, Breakker, and Gunther bounce back from their losses? So much to unpack in these upcoming days.
Leave a Reply