WWE Wrestlemania 40 Night 2 4/7/2024

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Night 2 4/7/2024

Stephanie McMahon of all people comes out. She said she's been part or at every Wrestlemania. She said she's the most proud of this Mania as it's the first of the Paul Levesque era. She asks if we are ready and starts the show. They had a bag pipe band and Braveheart dressed people for Drew McIntyre.

WWE World Heavyweight Title Match - Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew hit a claymore kick and goes for a quick pin. Seth goes out and is clipped. Drew belly to belly overhead suplexes him on the floor then takes a fan's phone. Drew rams Seth's back into the post then overhead belly to belly suplexes him on the floor again. Seth pedigrees him on the floor.

Drew slides back in and gets curbstomped. Seth is back body dropped and Drew punches him. They trade shots. Seth spinning forearms him, takes a face kick, superkicks him and is headbutted. Drew neckbreakers him then is powerbombed off a claymore kick. Seth pedigree's him and hits a curb stomp for 2.

Seth misses a top rope curbstomp then Drew future shock ddt's him for 2. Drew taunts CM Punk on commentary and tries a go to sleep. Seth cradles him for 2 then Drew claymore kicks him for 2. Drew clears off the commentary table and Punk rips him for it. Drew's head is banged off the table.

Seth curb stomps Drew on the table. Drew hits a claymore inside for 2. Drew hits another claymore and wins it.

It was a short match. It was okay but they do wilder stuff on TV each week than this. I liked Drew and Punk taking shots at each other here. I don't know about ending Drew's "I didn't get to win the title in front of fans" story here though.

Drew gives the title to a girl in the crowd then kisses her. Drew gets on the table and has words for CM Punk. Drew taunts him with the title and tells him to suck it. Punk trips him on the table then Punk takes his arm brace off. Punk hits Drew with it and stomps him.

The Judgment Day's music hits and Damien Priest comes running down with a ref to cash in. Priest hits Drew with the briefcase and says he's cashing in.

WWE Title - Drew McIntyre (c) vs Damien Priest

Priest hits a south of heaven chokeslam and wins it.

Well, at least Priest finally cashed in. I can't say they built up to it well or did a lot to put Priest in this position. I don't think he will be a long term champ. I do like that they built Punk into this though and really escalated the Punk/Drew feud.

Priest celebrates with Judgment Day after on the stage and Punk laughs.

Philadelphia Street Fight - Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits vs. The Final Testament (Karrion Kross and The Authors of Pain)

Bubb Ray Dudley is the special ref here. They go out early and pull out some tables. Snoop Dogg is on commentary here and is hilarious. Dawkins is sent into the steps. Bobby fights off a 3v1 then is hit with 3 kendo sticks from his opponents. Bobby gets neckbreakered on the chair top and The Profits make the save. They get hit with kendo sticks.

The Profits take a super collider and Snoop says to call the police. B-Fab breaks it up then Scarlet hits her with a trash can. Snoop says "that was trash". B-Fab then is sent into the post. Bobby flatliners Kross then exploders him. Ford dives off the post onto AOP outside.

Bobby hits Kross with the chair then uranages him on it. Scarlet hits Bobby with a kendo stick then B-Fab step kicks her. Scarlet russian legsweeps B-Fab off the apron through a table. Kross backdrops Bobby then ddt's him on the chair.

Kross and Bubba argue over the count. Kross pushes him then Bubba puts the glasses on. Bobby spears Kross. Kross gets his legs split then we get a top rope headbutt into his crotch while Bubba gets involved. Bobby's team all pushes each other and Bubba says to get the tables. Snoop calls them "family reunion tables, not picnic tables" and says grandma's gonna get them. Kross is hit with a kendo stick and Snoop chants "whoop that trick". Kross then takes a top rope splash through a table is pinned.

Snoop was hilarious to the point that I struggled to do commentary here. Snoop has now saved Mania for the 2nd year in a row. Put this guy in the Hall of Fame and get him out here again next year. The match was your usual hardcore mess and wasn't that great, but Snoop totally saved it.

Paul Heyman is interviewed. Kayla Braxton wants to know what Bloodline Rules are. Paul says Bloodline Rules are anything that are determined by them to be Bloodline Rules. No DQ, No Countout, one fall to a finish. He then says something about Cody losing and going home to Brandi.

We see La Knight arrive in the SlimJim car. He said he has some BFT's to give away and said it's gonna be a long night for AJ. 

LA Knight vs AJ Styles

He gives a fan the Slim Jim car as she won the sweepstakes for it. The lady looks totally confused. AJ's got a new slower theme here.

AJ goes after him before the bell rings and gets hit. LA hits punches and AJ hits chops. AJ charges at him and goes over the top. LA dropkicks him through the ropes. LA bangs AJ's head off the commentary table. LA comes through the ropes and gets clipped. AJ ddt's the leg then kneebreakers him.

LA lariats him and russian legsweeps him. LA hits a springboard ddt for 2. LA is dropped on the buckles face first then is german suplexed. AJ drops him chest first. AJ is crotched on the top rope and LA pounds on him. LA top rope release germans him for 2. AJ calf crushers him and LA rope breaks.

LA's leg is banged off the post then AJ baseball slides it into the post. AJ is pulled into the post. LA pulls the padding off the floor and LA is back body dropped onto it. LA barely beats the count in, with some assistance from the ref's count.

LA gets his knees up on AJ's springboard 450. They trade shots and AJ rolls him up. AJ knees him in the corner then is pushed down on the top rope during a springboard attempt. LA hits a BFT for the win.

It really wasn't much. AJ worked the knee for a bit and it didn't really go anywhere then LA made his comeback and won it. As often is the case with LA Knight, there was nothing real special about this one.

They announce King and Queen of the Ring for Saudi Arabia.

They brought out The Hall of Fame Class of 2024. When they started doing it, they went through too many people too fast and now there's weaker classes like this. It's obviously not a real credible Hall of Fame with Vince's limo driver being in it and I don't pay much attention to it.

WWE United States Title Triple Threat Match - Logan Paul (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens

Logan arrived in a Prime truck that has a cannon shaped as a Prime bottle. Logan also had someone in a Prime bottle costume. Sami Zayn tells Kevin Owens its "your turn now" in the back before he enters. KO then drove a golf cart out. Randy Orton then got on it with KO and rode down to ringside. KO also had ECW colors for his entrance.

Paul slides out and tells them to fight. They slide out after Paul and hit him. Paul's head is banged off the apron, steps and commentary table. Paul is then backdropped on the spanish announce table multiple times. Paul tries to get them to fight again and is double teamed.

Paul takes a double garvin stomp. Orton back elbows him and KO sentons him. KO and Orton both go for the pin and stare down. KO blocks an RKO and they fight. Paul hits a double buckshot lariat on them then Paul pounds on KO. Paul bangs KO's head off the buckles and we get a "Gatorade" chant. KO superkicks Paul then cannonballs Orton and Paul in the corner together.

Paul top rope swantons KO and rolls into a standing frogsplash on Orton. Orton and Paul trade euros. Orton hits lariats on KO then powerslams him. The crowd chants "we want water". Paul buckshots into an Orton powerslam. Orton hits double bridging ddt's.

Orton is pushed into superkicks then KO does a codebreaker + senton combo. KO headbutts Orton while on the 2nd rope then KO hits a 2nd rope powerslam. KO top rope moonsaults Paul for 2. KO rolls up Orton then takes an RKO.  Paul misses a knucks shot on Orton then drops him with it for 2.

Paul hits KO with the brass knucks. Orton gives the brass knucks to the ref. The guy in the Prime bottle suit pulls Paul out of the ring and it's Ishowspeed who is a streamer. Speed pushes Orton then is kicked over. Orton takes him out of the costume then RKO's him on the table. The table doesn't break. Paul sends Orton into the post.

KO pop-up powerbombs Paul then stunners Orton for 2. KO pops up Orton and is RKO'd. Paul sends Orton into the post hten top rope frogsplashes KO. He then pins KO.

It was an entertaining 3 way. Not great or anything but they had some fun with it and Paul looked good in there against Owens and Orton. I'm really surprised Paul got the win here as I thought they would finally finish off the Paul/Owens feud. Ishowspeed getting nailed was fun as it could only be.

WWE Women's Title Match - Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bayley

Bayley wears some egyptian style stuff and is carried out on men's shoulders. Iyo hits headbutts and sends her out. They roll around and both roll out. Iyo hits a nice forearm outside then Iyo dropkicks her. Iyo is stunnered over the ropes and Bayley topes her. Iyo leg locks her and dragon screws her leg. Iyo rolls her into a double stomp.

Iyo forearms her outside then is thrown over the timekeeper rail. Iyo springboards off the rail and is spinebustered on the floor. Bayley running knees her then hits corner lariats and clubs. Bayley is on the buckles and takes a shotei. Iyo springboard dropkicks her off the ropes.

Iyo top rope moonsaults her outside. Iyo springboard dropkicks her then Bayley sunset flips her into the buckles. Iyo germans her twice. Bayley gets her feet up on Iyo's top rope moonsault. Bayley misses a top rope elbow and is crossfaced. Bayley running back elbows her in the neck then is crossfaced again. Bayley belly to belly suplexes her. They grab each other and Iyo drops her with a forearm.

Iyo drops her with a slap then is forearmed. Iyo rolls her up for 2 then double underhook backbreakers her. Iyo hits a top rope moonsault for 2. Iyos standing moonsaults her, then hits a moonsault off the 2nd rope.Bayley lariats her and Iyo lands on her head on it. Bayley top rope elbow drops her then hits a roseplant, sending her head into the mat. Bayley wins it.

It was a little short but they didn't waste a lot of time and really stiffed each other good here. Not the smartest match or anything but it was quick and hard hitting. I liked it but I didn't think it was great.

They bring out the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders and Snoop Dogg. Snoop dances and says 72,755 is the attendance for tonight. He asks for a toast for The City of Brotherly Love. He asks if we're ready for the main event and says 145,428 is the two night total. He says 420 though instead of 420, despite 428 being the right number.

They showed a video for Roman vs Cody and you could clearly see The Young Bucks in one of the photos.

WWE Title / WWE Universal Title Bloodline Rules Match - Roman Reigns (w/Paul Heyman) (c) vs. Cody Rhodes

Cody came out with a mask that looks like his tattoo and of course just had to have Brandi Rhodes with him. The mask really looked stupid. I knew she'd find a way on TV eventually. Roman had a chorus and orchestra for his entrance.

They stare down face to face. Roman back elbows him then shoulders him over. Cody drops down and hits a punch then sidesteps Roman, sending him into the post shoulder first.  Cody gets a table out and takes a drive by kick. Cody sends Roman into the steps.

Cody tries to grab him from the outside and Roman hits kendo stick shots on him. Cody bulldogs him then figure fours him. Roman eye rakes him then stomps him. Cody's head is banged off the buckles then he is thrown out. Cody gets hit with a giant Prime bottle. Roman threatens a fan outside and they trade shots in the seats.

Cody suplexes him on a platform. Cody goes for a disaster kick and is caught with a last ride. Roman suplexes him for 2 then chokes him on the ropes, calling him a little b!tch. Roman backdrops him then cravates him.

Roman fisherman suplexes him then hits a corner lariat flurry. They kick and lariat each other and both go down. They trade punches and Cody powerslams him. Cody hits a disaster kick for 2. Cody goes for another and is caught with a cross rhodes from Roman.

Cody hits jabs and bionic elbows him. Roman low blows him then powerbombs him through the commentary table. Roman hits a superman punch for 2. Cody hits a cody cutter for 2. Roman knees him in the head then Cody spears him for 2. Cody hits cross rhodes then Jimmy Uso superkicks Cody. Cody is then held for a superman punch. Jey Uso comes down and fights with Jey on the ramp. Jey then spear him off the ramps through tables and I don't know if he landed right. Roman spears Cody for 2.

Cody spears Roman and both roll out. Cody spears Roman through the timekeepers rail. Cody hits cross rhodes twice then Solo Sikoa samoan spikes Cody in the throat. Cody kicks out on the pin attempt. Solo fires up and tells Roman to finish him. Cody takes a spear + samoan spike combo for 2.

John Cena then comes out and hits punches on Solo. Cena lariats him over the top then hits an attitude adjustment. Cena then attitude adjustments him through the commentary table. The Rock then comes out. Rock and Cena stare down and Cena takes a rock bottom. The Rock grabs his weightlifting belt then The Shield's music hits.

Seth Rollins wears Shield gear, grabs a chair and is superman punched by Roman. The Undertaker's music then hits and the lights go out. Taker appears in the ring behind Rock and chokeslams him. The lights go out again and Taker is gone.

Roman grabs a chair with Seth and Cody in the ring. He chairs Seth then Cody kicks him. Cody hits a cross rhodes and hits two more. Cody then wins it! Cody beats Roman Reigns!

Brandi comes out to celebrate with Cody after as does Sami Zayn, Randy Orton, LA Knight, Kevin Owens, CM Punk, Jey Uso and John Cena. Cody gives the title to his mom after.

Cody gets on the mic after. He said he's surrounded by greatness. He said he wouldn't be here without Bruce Prichard and Triple H, and tells them both to come out. Cody said we are starting a new era. Bruce hugs Cody then Triple H does too.

It wasn't a great match. It had a lot of finisher spam and there wasn't a great story outside of various people coming out to help Cody. Bloodline really didn't get involved until the 2nd half of the match which was dumb since they made the rules and could have this a 4v1 if they wanted. The surprises were really the big story of this one. And they were cool, but they were the smoke and mirrors.

I'm happy to see Roman lose. Him not being around most of the time really hurt the show and he really killed the momentum of a lot of faces including Owens several times, Seth, Cody, Sami, LA Knight, Braun and others. I get the logic of wanting to keep things as they are as things were going well, but whose to say one of the people I mentioned couldn't have taken this thing even further? Cody winning here was the right call, but I do question how well he will do with it. He has had some awful promos at times and that can't happen with him as champ.

I also wanted to mention that the build to Cody/Roman was absolutely terrible. Roman didn't appear on a lot of the Raw's or Smackdown's and didn't even appear on the final Smackdown go home show. The Rock showed Roman up in every way and it got to the point that one would think Rock/Cody was the main event.

Overall thoughts: Wrestlemania Night 2 was much better than Wrestlemani Night 1. We got some big entrances, the show was shorter and it felt like there was a lot less downtime than there was the night before. It was entertaining overall with Snoop Dogg and Cody winning the title being the big highlights, but it was not great. Drew/Seth was not even what they would do on a normal episode of TV, but there was some storyline work after. The hardcore match was a mess. LA/AJ was nothing too special. I liked the three way. The women's title match was rushed and short, but I still did like it. The main was really only notable for Cody winning and for the various surprise wrestlers that came in. It was an acceptable main, but not a classic.

As a whole, Mania would have been better as one night instead of two. That's not news and unfortunately, it will never be one night again due to increased ticket sales. While I do think Triple H got the booking right in ways Vince wouldn't, Vince would have never allowed the obnoxious ads, he would have sprung for bigger entrances and I think he would have set up the matches to be better.