WWE: WrestleMania 41 Hit or Miss?
Verdict - Miss
Quite simply put it was a miss, however it did have some great moments which will shape the landscape of WWE.
Why was it a miss? Build up to matches wasn't great, promoting products non-stop & the main event on Night 2 left a very sour taste in fans mouths.
Night 1 was okay but it didn’t feel like a WrestleMania & part of this was down to entrances & storylines as only a handful of superstars got that WrestleMania entrance & the first match set the tone between Gunther & Jey Uso for The World Heavyweight Championship, it was okay match but we all knew Jey was going to win but getting Gunther to tap out was trash decision as Gunther is supposed to be a legit champion, however he was made to look weak by tapping to Jey who is not known for submissions. It just felt wrong.
The second match for the Tag Team titles of The War Raiders vs New Day was again a okay match but this is WrestleMania the minimum requirement is to have a good match. I put this down to no investment in storyline & that the tag team division is dead on both Raw & Smackdown. War Raiders have no charisma or aura but are good in the ring & it was the right decision for New Day to steal the titles.
We move onto Jade Cargill vs Naomi which I rated as a good solid match however after re watching the match I have changed my opinion & thought it was okay at best.
LA Knight vs Jacob Fatu was the match what got the crowd going and this was down to both being fan favourites especially when Jacob wins and is the new US title champion & I gave Ray Fenix vs El Grande Americano a rating of good for what it was but shouldn’t be on WrestleMania as Ray was a late replacement for Rey Mysterio where they could of had Chelsea Green defending her US title instead.
So far we have had 5 matches, but whole feel of show so far felt rushed & could argue that there was only one match in the LA Knight vs Jacob Fatu felt like a WrestleMania match. The next match was for the WWE Women’s Championship with Tiffany Stratton locking horns with Charlotte Flair which I felt was good match but I think it’s fair to say the build-up for this match wasn’t good at all but it’s was the right decision for Tiffy Time to retain.
So we get to the main event which can only be described as a modern day classic between CM Punk, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns. Not only did all men get a great entrance, the in ring action & the ending was superb with a massive heel turn by Paul Heyman joining Seth Rollins leaving everyone feeling excited ready for night 2 as the match truly delivered.
Night 1 was okay but because of build ups & how felt some parts of the show felt I rated night 1 as 2/5 stars as it was okay with the main event saving the show in many fans eyes including myself.
Night 2 started out like a runner way train with the first 3 matches truly delivering. Iyo Sky, Bianca Belair & Rhea Ripley put on an absolute wrestling clinic and just like the men’s triple threat match will go down as a modern day classic & Iyo retained.
Drew vs Priest Sin City Fight was an excellent match & this is a match I wasn’t looking forward to but I enjoyed it to my surprise with Drew picking up the win. We get into the fatal four way match for the Intercontinental title & this was a banger match with Bron Breakker, Dirty Dom, Penta & Finn Balor putting on an absolute show with Dirty Dom being the victor & the new champ. Night 2 so far has delivered great quality but it goes down from here.
Randy Orton has an open challenge as Kevin Owens was injured which changed plans so maybe it would have been much different if Kevin Owens was there. instead we get a nice surprise with TNA World Champion Joe Hendry answering the call but he got jobbed in less than 5 minutes. Hendry got good exposure but it’s made TNA look pretty weak that your champion who’s gone life & death with Nic Nemeth to only a few months later loses to Randy Orton but the fans did enjoy this match.
Next match on the card was AJ Styles vs Logan Paul which was a total let down even an appearance from Kross couldn’t save this match. Next up was Tag Team Championship match with defending champions Liv & Raquel against Lyra & late surprise due to Bayley's injury Becky Lynch but again this match was pretty drab with Lyra & Becky picking up the win.
Now it’s main event time Cody Rhodes vs John Cena with heel Cena coming with no video package by design with stadium I'm black with white letters spelling out John Cena which was pretty damn cool. The match was good but the ending literally destroyed WrestleMania 41 with the rapper Travis Scott strolling to the ring helping Cena win his record breaking 17th World title. After last year's main event for Cody to lose like this was awful.
With that being said I felt night 2 was 3.5/5 stars.
WrestleMania was pretty nailed on to not being live up to the hype of last year's WrestleMania due to poor builds up & no Rock, but even lasts years wasn't that great until the main event. The main event can make or break WrestleMania & the Cody vs Cena ending broke this WrestleMania if we being honest so it would be a MISS for me.
Rating both nights together as 1 would 2.5/5 stars WrestleMania.
Quick point on the commentary team of Cole, Pat & Wade I didn’t like this trio as I think it works best with Cole & 1 or the other but for me it didn’t gel & I maybe wrong her but I can't remember if the American national anthem was played?
There's was a lot of promoting products which included the terrible logos on the ring mat
as turnbuckles and what really pissed me off was when Cody is getting into the ring WWE had pan the camera so they could get cone zone promotion in which was a utter disgrace.
From all these fake ass rappers, Netflix actors, Dana White, Turki from Saudi, the fake over reaction fans & TKO are ruining the spectacle of WrestleMania & this TKO are pricing fans out with over top ticket prices & merch across the world taking the wrestling fans for mugs who grew up watching this where many fans are lifelong so TKO are emotionally kind of blackmailing fans.
Rock has been heavily criticised & rightly so for not attending as the main story line is built around the Final Boss character taking souls, however we are all guilty as soon as his music hits all is forgiven & hopefully Stone Cold doesn’t get on a buggy anytime soon.