Finn Balor has shared a look at the injury that caused his WrestleMania 39 match against Edge to be momentarily paused.
Balor and Edge’s Hell in a Cell match took place in the semi-main event of WrestleMania Sunday. During a spot where Edge threw a ladder at Balor, it hit Balor in the head and busted him open. The referee checked on Balor and held Edge off from going after him. Doctors then entered the cell to tend to Balor.
— NukemTalksWrestling (@NukemWrestling) April 3, 2023
After Balor received medical attention, the match continued. It ended with Edge pinning Balor after giving him a spear and a con-chair-to. Leading into the finish, Balor went for a Coup de Grace from the wall of the cell. Edge moved out of the way and Balor went crashing through a table.
At the WrestleMania 39 night two post-show press conference, Paul “Triple H” Levesque confirmed that Shane suffered a torn quad at the event. The injury happened right after the start of an impromptu match between Shane and The Miz.
One night after Miz lost an impromptu match to Pat McAfee, Snoop Dogg introduced Shane as Miz’s opponent for night two. Shane briefly spoke on the microphone, getting emotional while thanking the fans for the reception he received. Shane gave Miz punches in the corner after the match started, but his leg gave out on the next spot.
Snoop Dogg improvised after Shane’s injury, giving Miz a People’s Elbow and then pinning him. The referee counted to three to give Snoop Dogg the victory.
“My hats off to Snoop,” Levesque said at the press conference. “He’s a natural born entertainer. I’ve known Snoop for years in this environment and what kind of a fan he is. But, man, tonight from a respect factor for me he put himself on a different playing field for me. Because I know a lot of guys that have been in the business a long time and if that happened they’d be like, ‘What do we do?’ Didn’t miss a beat. It was amazing.”
The most dominant WWE championship reign of the modern era is still ongoing.
Roman Reigns left fans in Los Angeles shocked as he retained the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 39 night two. The finish of the match involved interference by Solo Sikoa.
Sikoa had been ejected from ringside for interfering earlier in the match. But with the referee distracted by Paul Heyman, Sikoa reemerged as Rhodes was on the verge of winning. He gave Rhodes a Samoan Spike, which allowed Reigns to then hit a spear on Rhodes to get the victory.
WrestleMania went off the air with Reigns, Sikoa, and Heyman celebrating and pyro going off.
The Reigns vs. Rhodes match also included involvement by The Usos, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn. When The Usos attacked Rhodes during a ref bump, Owens and Zayn ran in to fight them off. Owens and Zayn also gave Reigns a stunner and a Helluva Kick.
Owens & Zayn won the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles from The Usos in the main event of WrestleMania 39 night one on Saturday.
Before Reigns vs. Rhodes began, Rhodes’ wife Brandi, his daughter Liberty, his mother Michelle, his sister Teil, and Brodie Lee Jr. (the son of the late Jon Huber) were shown in the front row before the match. As Rhodes interacted with them, he gave a weight belt to Brodie.
In a new interview with ESPN’s Daniel Cormier, Brock Lesnar spoke on his WWE future, stating “I don’t know how long I’m gonna be around.”
In a video posted to ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel, Lesnar spoke with Cormier about his career, retiring from WWE in 2020, and his WrestleMania 39 bout against Omos.
With regard to his WWE future, Lesnar expressed uncertainty:
I don’t know. I don’t know how much more… I don’t know how long I’m gonna be around.
Lesnar also revealed that he considered himself retired from WWE following WrestleMania 36 in 2020:
In 2020, I retired and was gonna be just done. I had my 20 years, COVID hit, my ocntract was up. I had my first match in Hamel, Minnesota in an empty garage. Here I was 20 years later, fighting Drew McIntyre in front of no people for the WWE Championship. I was like, “You know what? It’s came full circle,” and I was truly done.
It did come full circle for me, but I didn’t really want it to end that way.
Lesnar says that a call from Vince McMahon brought him back in 2021:
I grew my beard out, grew my hair out. And then my birthday came around and the phone rang, and it was Vince. He was like ‘What are you doing?” And I was like, “I’m just chilling.””
We didn’t even have a gameplan. He was at SummerSlam, I said let’s do this. I flew down, if we can hash a deal out, I’d love to see you. So I flew down to Vegas, and we’re off to the races.
I was like, “I don’t want to cut my beard or cut my hair.” And he’s like, “I love it.” So here we are.
Lesnar continued:
This company’s been good to me. It’s been a fun ride.
Every time that I think I want to be done, I get to the ring, and I get to the building, and that’s the part of the business that I really love.
I left the business early because I just didn’t like the travel. I’m just a simple man, and it was just too much for me at the time.
On his WrestleMania 39 with Omos, Lesnar said that the match was proposed to him, and he saw it as a challenge and an opportunity to give back to wrestling. Lesnar defeated Omos in the opening match of WrestleMania Sunday:
I liked this matchup when it was proposed to me, because I just like the David and Goliath. Some people look at me like the Goliath, and just the sheer size difference in this human being. I approach this like it’s one of them things where it’s me giving back to the business now.
Giving back and wanting to intrigue these young men that want to become and do what I’ve done over the years. The roles have reversed a bit, and I’m enjoying it.
I’m excited for the match tonight. It’s a challenge. It’s a challenging match. This guy is big, he moves well, and I don’t know if I can even get him over my head.
It was just something that was proposed and I don’t make the calls around here.
Lesnar also praised Paul Heyman for his role in his career, and his contributions to WWE, especially over the last year:
Without Paul, this business wouldn’t be what it is today, especially in the last year. Paul, behind the scenes, wears a lot of hats for this company. He’s greatly respected and greatly appreciated.
As for a potential future title reign, Lesnar was non-committal:
Of course it does, we all want to be a champion. But at this point in my career, I don’t know that I really need it. I would like another opportunity at it if things worked out that way, yeah.
Date: April 2, 2023 Location: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA
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Show Recap —
KICK-OFF SHOW
The pre-show panel was Kayla Braxton, Wade Barrett, Booker T and Kevin Patrick.
Peter Rosenberg accosted Liv Morgan backstage and she said there was a 100,000% chance that her team would win tonight. He continued backstage, bumping into Stacy Keibler coming out of the elevator by pure coincidence, Bronson Reed, and the Street Profits (who were pumped for Bianca Belair).
Paul Heyman interview
Cathy Kelley asked Paul Heyman if the downfall of the Usos last night would mean the downfall of Roman Reigns tonight.
Heyman told a story about his younger self being at Starrcade and meeting Dusty Rhodes. Heyman called Dusty a father figure to him. He recalled Dusty complimenting his promo but Dusty asked him, “but where’s the money?”
Heyman asked himself that question for years and now he knew the answer: Roman Reigns. Heyman called this the highest-grossing WrestleMania and it was because of Reigns — not Cody Rhodes. Reigns didn’t crack under the pressure he was put under and he was ready. Cody should be ready to lose to the money, Roman Reigns.
********
George Kittle joined the panel to discuss his involvement last night and what he’s looking forward to tonight.
Brock Lesnar against Omos will open the show.
The panel finished up discussing the main event.
********
In the signature video that starts every WWE show, they’ve added Roman Reigns saying, “Acknowledge me.”
WRESTLEMANIA 39 NIGHT TWO — MAIN SHOW
Jimmie Allen performed America the Beautiful.
Kevin Hart did the intro video again.
The Miz and Snoop Dogg kicked things off again. Miz mentioned the new champions, Rhea Ripley, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and the crowd cheered them. Snoop told the crowd to fire it up.
Brock Lesnar defeated Omos (w/MVP) (4:55)
Lesnar got a big fireworks display and Michael Cole mentioned that this is his 12th Mania match.
Lesnar tried a tackle but Omos grabbed him and flung him aside and Lesnar took a great bump. Omos blocked Lesnar’s offence and easily scoop-slammed him twice. Omos targetted his lower back and applied a bearhug, taking Lesnar off his feet. Omos slammed him again and again applied a bearhug as the crowd cheered on Lesnar.
Lesnar tried to fight back but Omos hit a chokeslam for two. Lesnar avoided a charge and hit two German suplexes. Lesnar really sold his back but he managed to hit another German as the crowd cheered. Lesnar went for an F5 but fell under the weight.
Lesnar countered a chokeslam and hit an F5 for the pinfall win.
The crowd enjoyed this and it was as good as it was going to be. Lesnar’s big moves were damn impressive.
********
Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match: Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler defeated Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez, Natalya & Shotzi and Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville (8:21)
There was a spot early where Green went for a missile dropkick but Rodriguez no-sold it. Rodriguez, Morgan and Natalya gave Baszler a triple powerbomb. Shotzi wiped out Green and Deville with a flying crossbody. Shotzi took out a couple of opponents with a suicide dive and Green followed with a dive off the top. Rodriguez then powerbombed her partner Morgan onto the group outside.
Deville and Green worked together with strikes to take out Rodriguez. Natalya and Shotzi gave Deville a Hart Attack before Natalya slammed Green onto Deville. Natalya stacked Green and Deville on top of each other and put them both in the Sharpshooter at the same time, which popped the crowd. Morgan broke it up by giving Natalya a Codebreaker.
Morgan gave Shotzi an Oblivion but Baszler and Rousey broke up the cover. They beat up Morgan and Shotzi before Rousey tapped out Shotzi with the armbar.
(Rousey’s left arm was in a soft brace again as it was on Smackdown a couple of weeks ago. The armbar was basically all she did.)
The match was ok. The crowd was pretty quiet for it.
********
They introduced Bobby Lashley as the winner of the Andre the Giant battle royal. He entered in street clothes and posed with the big trophy. He was all smiles as he soaked in the crowd reaction. (I kinda felt bad for Lashley as this seems like it for him for the night.)
Xavier Woods was backstage with Nikki Cross, Tegan Nox, Madcap Moss, Hit Row, and Angelo Dawkins. They ran a simulation on WWE 2K23 that determined Drew McIntyre was the most likely to win the triple threat.
********
Titus O’Neil joined commentary for the next match.
(Last night, Cinnamon Toast Crunch was the sponsor for Rey vs. Dominik Mysterio and it was somewhat distracting. Mike’s Hard Lemonade was the sponsor for this match and they even had an ad with Sheamus and McIntyre.)
Triple Threat Match: Gunther defeated Drew McIntyre and Sheamus to retain the Intercontinental Championship (16:36)
McIntyre immediately knocked Gunther out of the ring with a dropkick which allowed him and Sheamus to go at it. Gunther came back in and returned the favour to McIntyre before teeing off on Sheamus’ chest. The crowd gave him an applause for his lethal chops, which turned Sheamus’ chest red. Gunther put him in a Boston Crab but McIntyre smacked him twice in the face.
Gunther and McIntyre exchange chops and McIntyre actually won the exchange which got a pop from the crowd. Sheamus came back in and they all took turns clobbering each other.
Sheamus did ten beats of the Bodhrán but in between each shot, McIntyre also chopped Gunther. Sheamus did almost 30 beats of the Bodhrán as the crowd counted along. The crowd loved all of this and Cole was freaking out.
Gunther gave Sheamus a big boot, German suplex, and lariat for two. Gunther hit another big lariat but Sheamus kicked out. McIntyre gave Gunther a neckbreaker before suplexing Sheamus into Gunther in the corner. Gunther ducked a Claymore kick and followed with a dropkick and powerbomb for a nearfall.
Sheamus gave Gunther a White Noise off the middle rope and a Celtic Cross (Razor’s Edge) for a nearfall. Sheamus put Gunther in a cloverleaf but McIntyre broke it up. Sheamus handed out knee strikes to both men.
Sheamus hit Gunther with the Brogue Kick and the crowd was going nuts but McIntyre broke up the cover. The crowd chanted “this is awesome.” McIntyre hit Sheamus with an Undertaker dive and the crowd chanted “holy shit.”
McIntyre went for the Claymore Kick but Sheamus hit him with a perfectly timed Brogue Kick for a close nearfall. The crowd gave them a standing ovation.
They exchanged strikes until McIntyre hit Sheamus with Claymore Kick for a nearfall.
They traded right hands until Sheamus hit another Brogue Kick but he was too beat up and took too long to make a cover. As he did make the cover, Gunther broke it up with a splash.
Gunther powerbombed Sheamus onto McIntyre’s arched back and gave McIntyre powerbomb for the pinfall win.
This was amazing. The crowd loved it and the announcers gave it a standing ovation.
********
Bianca Belair defeated Asuka to retain the Raw Women’s Championship (15:57)
Asuka’s entrance included four different women dressed as Asuka in masks prancing on the stage as she made her entrance. Bianca Belair’s entrance was very cool. She had more than a dozen young Black girls do a dance number to introduce her and the crowd applauded it.
Belair wore black and gold, Asuka wore red and gold (with blue and red hair).
Belair was briefly in control but Asuka used a cool strike combo to take over. Asuka tried a super German suplex but Belair landed on her feet and hit a spinebuster for two. Belair tried a standing moonsault but Asuka caught her in a submission. Asuka transitioned into a version of the Asuka Lock but Belair got out of the ring.
They fought outside and Belair hit a brutal-looking powerbomb before rolling Asuka in the ring for a two count. They traded counters before Asuka hit a missile dropkick for two.
They exchanged moves on the apron until Belair hit an impressive deadlift vertical suplex, bringing Asuka into the ring from the outside for a two count. The crowd was getting quiet but they applauded that spot. They traded cradles and counters until Asuka hit a kick to the head for two.
There were dueling chants as Belair hit a blockbuster and standing moonsault for two. Asuka hit a knee strike but Belair came right back with a tackle. They battled on the top but Asuka pulled Belair down by the braid and hit a Codebreaker for two. Belair got Asuka up in Glam Slam position and drove her into the turnbuckle.
Belair tried a KOD but Asuka got out of it. Belair almost hit the referee and Asuka wanted to use the distraction to mist Belair but she ducked it.
Belair went for the KOD but Asuka reversed into an armbar. The crowd went nuts because they thought this might a title change but Belair fought out and hit KOD for the pinfall win. Belair retains.
This was a really strong match. The crowd was relatively quiet for the first half but they got really into it after that.
********
George Kittle and Al Michaels were shown in the crowd.
They replayed Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn beating the Usos to win the tag titles. They focused on the finish of Zayn hitting Jey with multiple Helluva Kicks.
********
Snoop and Miz were in the ring dancing to Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang. Miz announced an attendance of 81,395 bringing the two-night total to 161,892.
Miz complained to Snoop about putting him in an impromptu match last night. Snoop said, “my bad” but Miz didn’t like that response. Miz said this was his city but Snoop told him this was “our city.” Snoop had an opponent.
Shane McMahon entered. Shane grabbed a mic and told the crowd how much their response meant to him. Snoop made a match official.
Shane McMahon Snoop Dogg defeated The Miz
This was something.
Shane was doing whatever his offence is before he suddenly fell, apparently injuring his leg. Referee Jessika Carr and a trainer checked on Shane.
Snoop stepped in and dropped Miz with a right hand. He asked Shane if he was ok before they rolled him out of the ring.
Snoop dropped Miz again and hit a People’s Elbow for the pinfall win. Snoop danced and the crowd cheered.
********
There was a movie ad tie-in with Russell Crowe who introduced the match by video.
Edge entered as “Brood Edge” but fortunately, they didn’t do the regular Brood entrance. I know everyone loves that entrance but Edge doing that bit at this point in his career is weird. Instead, Edge had a new outfit and he came up through the stage to “South of Heaven” by Slayer. Edge’s regular Alter Bridge music hit and he made his entrance.
Finn Bálor entered as the demon to his old music. (There’s still a bit of daylight out which didn’t help the entrance but it still looked pretty cool.)
Hell in a Cell match: Edge defeated Finn Bálor (18:08)
They went for weapons under the ring right away as Edge grabbed a red steel chair while Bálor grabbed a purple kendo stick (Judgment Day’s colours are purple). Edge hit Bálor with the chair but he no-sold it and hit Edge repeatedly with the stick. There were also red kendo sticks and Edge pulled out a bunch of them before hitting Bálor with a purple one.
Three minutes in, the crowd chanted “we want tables.” Edge trapped Bálor in the corner of the Cell by pinning him into it with two kendo sticks. Edge followed with a missile dropkick off the apron. Bálor sold that he got hit but also sold like it didn’t hurt.
Edge set up a purple table to the delight of the crowd but Bálor busted free of the kendo sticks and went to town on Edge who fought back soon later with an impaler DDT. Bálor basically popped right up and hit a slingblade. (They’re really pushing that Bálor is a different animal as the demon.)
Bálor then hit a running dropkick, sending Edge through the table he set up. Bálor whipped a few chairs at Edge’s face but Edge booted him and hit an Unprettier in the ring. Edge hit an Edge-o-matic but Bálor kicked out at one.
Edge shoved a ladder into Bálor’s face and Bálor came up bleeding. It looked like this was hard-way blood and the ref stopped Edge so they could clean up Bálor. The crowd booed because they didn’t want the match to pause. They showed a replay and while Bálor did get his hands up, the ladder did appear to hit him right on the forehead.
As the medical staff checked on Bálor, Edge took more weapons out from under the ring to distract the crowd.
Bálor popped back up and stomped Edge. Edge avoided a Coup de Grace which led to a double down as they clotheslined each other. Bálor is still bleeding.
Bálor responded with a slingblade, dropkick and Coup de Grace for two.
Bálor climbed a ladder but Edge hit him with a kendo stick. Edge used the ladder to bring Bálor down from the top rope with an Edgecution for a nearfall.
Edge pulled out a table but Bálor attacked him with a kendo stick and hit him repeatedly in the midsection with a chair. With Edge on a table, Bálor climbed the inside of the Cell onto a little platform (that isn’t normally there) about halfway up the Cell. Bálor tried a Coup de Grace but Edge moved and Bálor crashed through the table.
Edge followed with a spear for a nearfall. Edge hammered away on Bálor’s back with the stick and red chair.
Edge grabbed another chair and hit a con-chair-to without hesitating for the pinfall win.
********
They’re killing a lot of time before the main event.
There was a commercial and a video package of all the movie parodies.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Belair who said she was living the dream. Belair’s dancer friends joined her and they celebrated together.
They recapped the Hall of Fame and brought out the 2023 Hall of Famers/Hall of Famer families. Rey Mysterio got his own entrance of course. Rey embraced Stacy Keibler, the Great Muta, and the families of Andy Kaufman and Tim White.
There was a video for next year’s WrestleMania in Philadelphia. They also showed Seth Rollins’ entrance from last night. This might’ve been a spot for a commercial break depending on how you’re watching. There was also a TurboTax commercial regardless of how you’re watching.
There was a video package for the main event.
********
Cody Rhodes entered and the crowd loudly sang the high points of his song. Rhodes embraced his wife, daughter, sister and mother at ringside. His young daughter was wearing headphones to block the loud noises but she took them off after her dad hugged her. Cody gave his weight belt to Brodie Lee’s oldest son (Negative 1), who was acknowledged by Michael Cole.
Reigns’ entrance included six or so piano players performing ahead of his regular entrance.
Roman Reigns (w/Paul Heyman & Solo Sikoa) defeated Cody Rhodes to retain the WWE Universal Championship (35:27)
Samantha Irvin did the ring intros and the crowd is very much into this. Both men got big reactions but Cody is very obviously the favourite. Reigns grabbed the mic and said, “WrestleMania — acknowledge me.”
They had an exchange that led to Rhodes doing the Goldust uppercut spot. Reigns regrouped outside the ring as Heyman told him to smash Cody. Reigns gained some offence but Rhodes cut him off with a dropkick for one. Rhodes tried a Disaster Kick but Reigns caught him and hit a powerbomb for two.
Reigns was in control for a bit but after he tried to toss Rhodes from the ring, Rhodes bounced back in and went after him. However, Reigns blocked a PK and dropped Rhodes on the apron. Reigns slammed Rhodes on the ramp but Rhodes responded by doing the same.
Rhodes had the advantage but as the referee checked on Reigns, Sikoa hit Rhodes in the ribs with a chair. Reigns followed with a drive-by dropkick for two. Rhodes tried to fire back but Sikoa tripped him, as the ref dumbly looked at Reigns, and Reigns followed with a clothesline for two.
Reigns cleared both announce tables and tried a powerbomb but Rhodes blocked and backdropped him through a table. In the ring, Rhodes hit strikes, a powerslam and Cody Cutter for two. (Cole went a little too crazy, somehow thinking Rhodes would win with a springboard cutter.)
Rhodes hit a suicide dive and they appeared to clonk heads (Rhodes checked on Reigns before chucking him back in the ring). Sikoa whipped Rhodes with his weight belt and the ref finally stopped playing dumb and he chucked Sikoa from ringside. The crowd cheered.
Reigns wanted to use the belt but the ref stopped him and the distraction allowed Rhodes to hit a superkick and Cross Rhodes for a nearfall. The crowd was really buzzing. (Cole said, “this was Cody’s chance!” which is exactly what he said earlier after the Cody Cutter.)
Reigns fought back with a jawbreaker and Uranage/Rock Bottom for two. Rhodes ducked a superman punch and hit a Pedigree for a nearfall.
Rhodes went for Disaster Kick but Reigns caught him in mid-air with a superman punch for two. Reigns seemed to be filled with self-doubt but Heyman assured him that Rhodes was ready to be defeated. Reigns went for a spear but Rhodes flipped over into a cradle for two before applying a figure four but Reigns countered it.
They traded right hands before Reigns dodged Rhodes’ move off the top and hit a spear for a nearfall. Reigns applied a guillotine as the crowd chanted for Rhodes. Rhodes tried to fire up but Reigns wrapped his legs around Rhodes.
Rhodes fought out of it and attacked Reigns but Reigns ducked a kick and Rhodes booted the referee. Both men went down after Reigns hit a superman punch and Rhodes hit a clothesline.
Rhodes set up for the Cross Rhodes but Jimmy and Jey Uso came in and superkicked him before hitting 1D. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn ran in through the crowd and dumped the Usos from the ring.
Owens gave Reigns a stunner. Zayn gave Reigns a Helluva kick.
Owens and Zayn brawled with the Usos out through the crowd.
Rhodes covered Reigns for a nearfall. The crowd is on its feet.
They exchanged strikes until Rhodes hit the Dusty jabs, Bionic elbow, and Goldust uppercut.
Rhodes hit two consecutive Cross Rhodes but Heyman distracted the referee.
Sikoa in a hood reemerged and gave Rhodes the Samoan Spike. Reigns speared Rhodes.
Records that will be set during WrestleMania weekend
Match by match previews, odds, and what are the goals of the matches
Ticket sales for the six major shows in Los Angeles this week
Notes on NXT and AEW doing major shows on the same day on 5/28 and background of that story
A look at the career of Tim White, going into the Hall of Fame
Stand & Deliver and Supercard of Honor previews
Secondary market interest in all of the shows
Update on WWE sale
Update on Vince McMahon as it pertains to WrestleMania and the sale
A look at the careers of Anderson Silva and Donald Cerrone as they go into the UFC Hall of Fame
Full coverage of this past week’s UFC show, business notes, problems that seem to always be there in Texas and why
Notes on the first AAA TripleMania show of 2023 and the AEW relationship, the tag team tournament that will lead to a mask or hair being cut, another mask match, a celebrity match that has gotten mainstream news in Mexico and a funny story behind it, and more.
How many homes are the major stations that carry wrestling and MMA in as compared to the peak
The most detailed look at the ratings for the past week’s shows, competition, quarter hours, the weekly standings and more
80th anniversary of pro wrestling in one of the major arenas in the world coming up this weekend
Wrestler whose matches are now not being put up new on YouTube and why
Kairi talks AEW & WWE talent she’d like to work with
Stardom Cinderella tournament news and new major matches
Lots of injuries to major stars being talked about
Konosuke Takeshita returns to Japan this past week to team with former WWE star
Mark Hitchock Memorial show with top matches
XPW returns
RevPro York Hall big show notes
Bloodsport notes including the first match back of Kota Ibushi
Impact dealing with key injuries and crowning one or two new champions
Impact star competing in a bodybuilding contest this week
Impact uses former NHL star who has been doing indie shows
Tons of AEW news including Jon Moxley’s podcast interview, C.M. Punk’s potential return, next PPV show
Don Callis injury update
Notes on timing of a major return
Tony Khan’s view of ROH compared to AEW and who ROH is aimed for
Honor Club update
AEW All Access first episode looked at
AEW’s top merchandise sellers
Tony Khan on MJF as a babyface
Vickie Guerrero talks leaving AEW
International TV ratings and streaming numbers
New UFC main events
Fighter attempts to win title in third weight class
Benavidez vs. Plant boxing numbers and what percentage of AEW & WWE big show buyers purchased that PPV
MMA stars in major boxing event this week
Promotion with its own unique audience with 91 percent of TV viewers not watching any rival promotion on TV
Nick Khan talks TV rights
What Nick Khan says are the most important things to WWE
Rey Mysterio’s future and how long he wants to wrestle
Update on Dominik Mysterio
Interesting note on Rey Mysterio’s career
Ronda Rousey talks creative and not in flattering way
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Sunday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight covering night two of WrestleMania. We did shows Friday night covering the TV shows and ROH Supercard of Honor, and last night covering the latest news and WrestleMania night one, previewed night two and NXT Stand & Deliver. We’ll also be up after Raw tomorrow.
There are multiple reports out that it will be announced tomorrow that Endeavor has purchased the majority interest in WWE. This CNBC story that just broke said that Endeavor would spin WWE & UFC into a separate publicly traded company, which would allow both the UFC and WWE profits to pay the interest and that this deal could be announced as early as tomorrow. The story is that Endeavor would create a joint company composed of both UFC and WWE. They would have people in place in the company which would enable them to cut duplicate jobs if necessary, lowering costs, plus negotiate deals either together or separately with using the power of owning both brands. The idea is through owning both brands they could use that leverage to get higher rights fees for both properties. The rest of Endeavor would become a separate company. Notable in that is that the UFC profits have been valuable in the old Endeavor company in carrying it. Ari Emanuel would run both companies. Vince McMahon and Mark Shapiro would be Executive Chairmans of the new company while Nick Khan would remain president of WWE and Dana White would remain president of UFC. Essentially that gives McMahon even greater power in the sense he would be co-chair of both WWE and UFC if the story is accurate. Emanuel had said multiple times of late that he wasn’t interested in buying WWE and they were trying to lower the company debt. The new company would theoretically pick up the UFC and WWE purchase debt.
Regarding Randy Orton, on Friday we were told by WWE and actually asked to put out that he was not ready to return for a while due to his recovery from injuries and were told they wanted that out with the idea people shouldn’t get their hopes up for an appearance. The only reason I’m bringing that up is because Nick Khan did say in an interview this week that Pat McAfee would not be part of WrestleMania this year (which was kept secret from everyone) and there he was last night. When asking others nobody knew of plans for Orton for tonight but that would likely be a secret if there were.
The WrestleMania match order as of a few hours ago was:
Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
Shayna Baszler & Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green vs. Natalya & Shotzi
Gunther vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre for the IC title
Bianca Belair vs. Asuka for the Raw Women’s title
Edge vs. Finn Balor Hell in a Cell
Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed title
There will be major ring entrances of course like last night including for Edge and Finn Balor. Everything points to Brood Edge as part of the presentation and it’s already been announced Demon Balor. There is the Hall of Fame announcement later in the show. Bobby Lashley has been saying he will issue an open challenge.
As of this morning there were 67,134 tickets out for tonight’s show and 88 remaining plus 1,522 secondary market tickets that were purchased but not yet sold (which is not unusual at all). There will probably be some tickets opened up late like happened yesterday.
There were a lot of chants for LA Knight when they talked about The Miz open challenge last night and “Yeahs.” Fans were after clearly wanting Knight to be the guy Lashley faces tonight. Houston Mitchell of the LA Times said he’s been going to wrestling for over 40 years and has rarely seen a groundswell of support for a guy out of nowhere like that and can’t believe it’s just because his name is LA.
Dustin Rhodes is in Los Angeles
Dante Martin was released from the hospital and was with Tony Khan. There is no update regarding the medical procedure.
MJF will be getting a key to the city of Oyster Bay on Long Island tomorrow at 2 p.m.. at Oyster Bay Town Hall.
For the weekend we are dong polls on ROH Supercard of Honor, NXT Stand & Deliver and both nights of WrestleMania. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match from all four shows to [email protected]
We are also looking for reports from the GCW Hall of Fame ceremony today as well as any of the Los Angeles non-WWE/ROH shows the last two days to [email protected]
As far as Google searches go for the week, WrestleMania had 500,000 thus far for Friday/Saturday and was second behind the Final Four for the week. Snoop Dogg was No. 18 yesterday although that was at least partially not due to WrestleMania and the lead story on him wasn’t Mania related. Nothing from MMA made the list with no UFC shows. But ROH and NXT didn’t nor would they be expected to crack the top 20. Anthony Joshua was No 10 yesterday with 50,000 and Roy Jones Jr., who boxed MMA star Anthony Pettis last night in Milwaukee, was No; 15 with 20,000.
Pettis beat the 54-year-old Jones via decision in a boxing match in Milwaukee last night via eight round decision. Vitor Belfort also knocked down Jacare Souza three times in winning a decision on the show, while Jose Aldo went to a draw on that show with Jeremy Stephens. Aldo in his post-fight interview went hard on Conor McGregor claiming McGregor turned down a rematch with him. McGregor responded of course saying that the two of them should box.
Sami Zayn says he didn’t achieve his dream at WrestleMania 39 only because he never dared to dream something so big.
Zayn and Kevin Owens spoke with Ariel Helwani following their victory over the Usos on Saturday night. Helwani asked the longtime friends to put into words what they are feeling about their emotional performance on the show.
Zayn said:
It’s too complex to summarize with one emotion because there’s like 15 emotions all jostling at the same time. But for me, if I had to sum it up, it would just be pride in getting here with him and gratitude for being able to get here with him.
Owens responded:
I haven’t found the words and it’s very hard to put into words but I feel like saying that sums up pretty well how we feel and I think people can relate. When the three count happened, the wave of emotion that hit me, I didn’t expect it. It’s crazy because I tried to picture it, I’ve pictured this moment hundreds of times.
Zayn interjected:
Actually, I never did. I never pictured it being in the main event of WrestleMania. So, it actually exceeded our dreams if that’s even possible.
Zayn continued:
I mean, we dreamed of when we first got to Ring of Honor – the first time we went we were like, ‘oh man, these guys are really good but this is where we have to be and we need to win those tag team titles.’ So, to go from that to this is wild, it’s just wild.
Owens also reflected on all of his accomplishments in recent years.
I think tonight was the epitome of the moments that’ll in my life, in my career, when I look back on will leave me speechless.
Zayn said:
Every year in my career I said, ‘well, this is as good as it gets’ and somehow, like, here we are right now. I don’t know how it keeps getting better but this is amazing.
Helwani asked Zayn if the victory at WrestleMania takes away any of the pain he might feel over having lost to Roman Reigns in Montreal at the Elimination Chamber.
Zayn said:
Absolutely and that’s one of the things that is hard to do sometimes in the moment, is just look at things on a longer timeline. I try to look at life in general that way but things like that will get you every now and again, like, man so close but not quite, as was the case in Montreal.
But if I had just waited six weeks, I’d be like, well, this is on the other side of it. So, for sure it softens that blow even though that’s ultimately an incredibly proud and amazing evening in my life and in my career. But certainly whatever little pain was there is alleviated by this moment, for sure.
I feel very lucky, also, because that was like a WrestleMania to me and now I got WrestleMania again, a different version with a happier ending with my bro. Lucky, just very, very lucky.
Zayn and Owens have now won tag team titles in three different promotions. They are two-time PWG tag champions, one-time ROH tag champions, and the current WWE tag champions. Their rivalry against each other in 2010 was also voted Feud of the Year in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has sent a message to WWE and its fans on WrestleMania 39 weekend.
In a video posted to his social media channels early Sunday morning Eastern time, The Rock had words for WWE fans, wrestlers, personnel, as well as a comment on his daughter Simone’s in-ring debut as Ava at Saturday’s NXT Stand & Deliver event.
The Rock called the fans “our anchor,” and encouraged them to “have a blast” at WrestleMania:
Have fun. Enjoy WrestleMania. Everyone is performing for you.
The Rock addressed WWE wrestlers, and encouraged them to have good performances at WrestleMania:
Move the crowd, and have some f—ing fun… Move the crowd, have fun, connect with that crowd.
The Rock specifically mentioned Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa, and Cody Rhodes, and said that he was looking forward to Reigns vs. Rhodes, and teased a future appearance:
I’m looking forward to all the matches, but especially the main event. Roman Reigns, my cousin, the Universal Champion, and to my family — The entire Bloodline — Jey, Jimmy, Solo, we’re so proud of you guys.
And who knows? Maybe, just maybe, down the road, I’ll see you in person.
And of course his opponent, a man I have tremendous love and respect for, Cody Rhodes. He’s my boy, in a way we grew up together. Our families were together when we were kids. “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes and “The Soulman” Rocky Johnson, when they were partners. We would hang at each others’ house all the time when we were little kids.
But Cody, your journey is so incredibly inspiring not only to the WWE Universe, not only to your fellow brothers and sisters of the locker room, but also to me as well. So, very proud of you, brother.
Johnson also commented on his daughter’s in-ring debut on Saturday, and congratulated the NXT performers:
This morning was a big, big morning for NXT, all the performers of NXT, including my daughter Simone — Ava Raine baby! She made her big debut. So proud of you, baby girl. Keep up the great work. So congratulations to NXT.
The Rock’s full message can be seen below.
Sending electric energy, love, gratitude and support to our WWE Universe, Team WWE and my fellow women and men @WWE & @WWENXT Superstars whom I will always have your backs. Make history this weekend, move the crowd and have fun. ~ People’s Champ 💪🏾#Wrestlemaniapic.twitter.com/J88VExgwy7
For the first time since July 2021, The Usos are no longer tag team champions.
In the main event of WrestleMania 39 night one, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn defeated The Usos to win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles. The victory marks the start of Owens & Zayn’s first tag team title reign in WWE.
Zayn pinned Jey Uso after three straight Helluva Kicks while Owens took out Jimmy Uso with a stunner.
There was a near fall during the match where Zayn became the first person to ever kick out of The Usos’ 1D. Owens also kicked out after being given stereo top rope splashes by The Usos.
With WrestleMania being held in Los Angeles, Owens and Zayn wore gear paying tribute to their time in LA indie promotion PWG. The tribute included both Owens and Zayn having the PWG logo on their gear.
The Usos reign as champions lasted nearly two years after winning the SmackDown Tag Team titles at Money in the Bank 2021. They later became undisputed champions when they won the Raw Tag Team titles in May 2022.
Owens & Zayn vs. The Usos was the first-ever tag team title match to headline WrestleMania.
Night one of WrestleMania ended with Michael Cole questioning if The Bloodline is crumbling before our eyes. Roman Reigns is defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39 night two on Sunday.
Rhea Ripley is the new WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Ripley defeated Charlotte Flair on night one of WrestleMania 39 on Saturday at SoFi Stadium to win the title and become the fifth Women’s Grand Slam Champion in WWE history.
Ripley won the title with a Riptide off the second rope to pin Flair and win the SmackDown Women’s title for the first time and to complete her career Grand Slam.
Earlier in the contest, Flair connected with a moonsault off the post to the floor, then used a spear for a near fall. Flair also used a figure-four leglock, but Ripley forced a rope break, which led to the closing sequence of the match where Ripley blocked a fallaway slam off the ropes and connected with the second-rope Riptide.
Previously, Ripley held the the NXT Women’s Championship, the Raw Women’s Championship, and the Women’s Tag Team Championship, each on one occasion. Ripley is also a former NXT UK Women’s Champion, but WWE does not currently recognize that title for Grand Slam purposes.
Flair, Sasha Banks, Asuka, and Bayley are the other women who have completed the career Grand Slam in WWE.
Flair’s seventh SmackDown Women’s title reign ends at 92 days.
Ripley earned the SmackDown Women’s title match at WrestleMania by winning the 2023 Royal Rumble match on January 28 of this year. Ripley declared that she would challenge Flair for the title on the January 30 episode of Raw.
With some help from Bad Bunny, Rey Mysterio was victorious in his father vs. son matchup at WrestleMania 39.
Superstar musician Bad Bunny returned to WWE programming as he joined Spanish commentary for Rey and Dominik Mysterio’s match at WrestleMania Saturday. He ended up getting involved when Dominik tried to cheat to win. Dominik went to hit Rey with a chain while the referee’s attention was turned away, but Bad Bunny took the chain away from him. Rey then gave Dominik a 619 and a frog splash to get the win.
The Rey vs. Dominik match also included interference by Judgment Day’s Damian Priest and Finn Balor. Legado del Fantasma, who were gifted Latino World Order shirts by Rey on Friday’s SmackDown, ran out to help even the odds.
Bad Bunny has been announced as the host of WWE’s Backlash pay-per-view in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Saturday, May 6. Bad Bunny’s involvement in Rey vs. Dominik appears like it could lead to Bad Bunny competing in the ring at Backlash.
Bad Bunny made his in-ring debut when he teamed with Priest to defeat The Miz & John Morrison at WrestleMania 37 in 2021. Bad Bunny also appeared as an entrant in the 2022 men’s Royal Rumble match.
This will be the first tag team match to go on last at the event since Hulk Hogan & Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff at WrestleMania I and the first tag title match ever to headline a WrestleMania. Sami Zayn spoke about the significance of the match headlining in an interview with Ariel Helwani earlier this week.
It is insane because if you think about it, If we do go on last, which again remains to be seen, it would be the first time since WrestleMania I. And it would be the first tag team title match of all time. So, that’s something.
Meltzer addressed reasons why Owens & Zayn vs. The Usos should headline the show on Saturday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
Meltzer said
I think it’s the way to end the show, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn go over in Los Angeles, same city. I think they are going to pull out a lot of great stuff. I’ve seen Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens in matches on far smaller platforms pull out some incredible stuff and this is the biggest match of their lives. And quite frankly, the biggest match of The Usos lives too. So, I expect a performance commensurate with the biggest match of four people’s lives who are all very good.
WWE WrestleMania 39 Night one lineup (Saturday, April 1) —
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos defend against Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defends against Rhea Ripley
Becky Lynch, Lita & Trish Stratus vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai & IYO SKY)
Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio
WrestleMania Showcase match: Braun Strowman & Ricochet vs. The Street Profits vs. Chad Gable & Otis vs. The Viking Raiders
United States Champion Austin Theory defends against John Cena
Bobby Lashley may be in action at WrestleMania 39 after all.
After winning the Andre the Giant Battle Royal on Friday’s SmackDown, Bobby Lashley tweeted out a video issuing a challenge for WrestleMania. Lashley said his weekend is free — and he wants to see who’s willing to step up to him.
I’ll say it once again…
I AM FREE SATURDAY & SUNDAY!!
You can’t have #WrestleMania without the All-Mighty. You just can’t!
“Surprise, surprise. Look who just won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Was there any doubt in anybody’s mind who was going to win that? The Almighty,” Lashley said. “You can’t have a WrestleMania without The Almighty. My weekend is free. Let’s see who’s really ready for a real challenge. Let’s see who wants to step up and get some from The Almighty.”
Lashley was originally slated to face Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania, but Wyatt hasn’t appeared on WWE television in recent weeks.
Lashley, Bronson Reed, and Braun Strowman were the final three wrestlers left in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal on Friday night. After Reed eliminated Strowman, Lashley eliminated Reed to get the victory.
WrestleMania 39 is taking place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California this Saturday (April 1) and Sunday (April 2).
WWE has provided a look at the set for WrestleMania 39.
The two-night event is taking place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California this Saturday and Sunday. Ahead of WrestleMania kicking off, WWE uploaded a set reveal video today hosted by Corey Graves and Carmella. They were joined by skateboarders Leticia Bufoni, Monica Torres, and Briana King to help show off what it will look like inside SoFi Stadium.
WWE has also released the cold open for WrestleMania, which stars actor and comedian Kevin Hart.
Both nights of WrestleMania will air live on Peacock starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Here’s a full rundown of what’s been announced for each night:
Night one (Saturday, April 1) —
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defends against Rhea Ripley
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos defend against Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Becky Lynch, Lita & Trish Stratus vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai & IYO SKY)
Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio
WrestleMania Showcase match: Braun Strowman & Ricochet vs. The Street Profits vs. Chad Gable & Otis vs. The Viking Raiders
United States Champion Austin Theory defends against John Cena
Night two (Sunday, April 2) —
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Cody Rhodes
Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair defends against Asuka
Intercontinental Champion Gunther defends against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in a triple threat match
Hell in a Cell match: Edge vs. “The Demon” Finn Balor
Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
WrestleMania Showcase match: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya & Shotzi vs. Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green
WWE has revealed the match lineups for WrestleMania 39 nights one and two.
The cards for each night of WrestleMania were revealed during Thursday’s episode of ESPN’s First Take. The two-night event is taking place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California this Saturday and Sunday.
As expected, Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship will main event WrestleMania 39 night two. The United States title match between Austin Theory and John Cena was announced as “headlining” night one, though WWE revealed last week that Theory vs. Cena would be opening the night one card.
Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship and The Usos vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles are among the other top matches on the night one card.
Night two will feature Bianca Belair vs. Asuka for the Raw Women’s Championship and Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus for the Intercontinental title.
The night one card has seven matches and the night two card has six. Both shows will stream live on Peacock/WWE Network starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time on their respective nights.
Night one (Saturday, April 1) —
United States Champion Austin Theory defends against John Cena
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defends against Rhea Ripley
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos defend against Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Becky Lynch, Lita & Trish Stratus vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai & IYO SKY)
Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio
WrestleMania Showcase match: Braun Strowman & Ricochet vs. The Street Profits vs. Chad Gable & Otis vs. The Viking Raiders
Night two (Sunday, April 2) —
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Cody Rhodes
Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair defends against Asuka
Intercontinental Champion Gunther defends against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in a triple threat match
Hell in a Cell match: Edge vs. “The Demon” Finn Balor
Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
WrestleMania Showcase match: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya & Shotzi vs. Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green
