The first night of WrestleMania 38 featured Steve Austin on the Kevin Owens Show, Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair, Seth Rollins vs. an unknown opponent, and much more.
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This year’s Wrestlemania was huge as many stars returned to the main event at “The Grandest Stage of All”. We saw the Texas “Rattle Snake” coming back and giving an incredible no holds barred match. Saturday’s part of WrestleMania had both women’s championship events, the SmackDown Tag Team Championship battle, and Seth Rollins facing Cody Rhodes.
Also, with the return of the “American Nightmare”, this Wrestlemania was just breathtaking. As to be noted, Seth Rollins was all over WWE as he wanted an opponent to main event Wrestlemania and WWE gave him one of the biggest returns in Cody Rhodes.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs battled The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships in the first official match of WrestleMania 38 after a two-hour pre-show and the typical song and dance to get the main show began. Nakamura jumped right in and landed some powerful kicks on Jey Uso. However, once Jimmy and Jey had him trapped, they began to dictate the tempo with double-team strikes.
The Usos followed their typical strategy of isolating the babyface until he could tag in a new opponent to clear house. However, Boogs injured his knee while attempting to carry both brothers on his shoulders, leaving Nakamura to fend for himself. Jimmy and Jey ended The King of Strong Style with The One D for the pin after a few moves.
Winner: The Usos
The Scottish Warrior attempted to gain an edge immediately with a barrage of powerful blows, but Corbin was a tough opponent who refused to be defeated without a fight. For a few minutes, they were moving at a fair pace, but after Corbin took control of the action, they slowed to a crawl. McIntyre was able to land a spinebuster and start his comeback thanks to an unintentional distraction from Madcap Moss.
McIntyre became the first person to kick out from The End of Days before clinching the victory with his trademark Claymore Kick. After that, McIntyre confronted Madcap with his sword but instead cut two of the ring ropes.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
After some jaw-dropping manoeuvres, The Miz and Rey made their way to their respective squads. And Paul quickly diverting Rey’s attention was sufficient for The A-Lister to gain the advantage. Even Before Miz and Dom tagged in and started fighting, Paul spent a few minutes in the ring with Rey.
The audience booed more than you’d think imaginable when Paul struck Rey with Eddie Guerrero’s famous Three Amigos suplexes. Rey and Dom hit him with a double 619 and two frog splashes, but The Miz ruined their conclusion by performing a blind tag and slamming Rey with his Skull Crushing Finale for the victory.
The Miz attacked Paul with the Skull Crushing Finale while they were celebrating their great win. We may have just witnessed him turn babyface whether he wants to or not, as the audience erupted.
Winner: The Miz and Logan Paul
The doorbell rang, but neither lady was in a hurry to close the door. They took in the thunderous applause from the audience before Belair extended her hand in respect. Lynch swiped it away and promptly hit the Manhandle Slam for a tight two-count.
The EST had to kick out of numerous more attempted pins after avoiding a recurrence of her quick SummerSlam defeat. Lynch’s own surrender was used against her, but she was unable to force her to tap out. Big Time Becks threw her adversary onto the steel stairs when they moved the battle out of the ring.
Belair took a Man-handle Slam onto the steps after failing to win with a fantastic 450 splash. They maintained the battle as close to a draw as possible until the finish when The EST landed the KOD for the victory.
Winner: Bianca Belair
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After some fireworks and the lights went down, Cody Rhodes‘ song started playing, and he walked out to a standing ovation from the crowd. Rollins was ecstatic to be back in front of the WWE Universe, but he did not appear to share the crowd’s joy. The American Nightmare dominated the opening several minutes and put on a display for the fans. Before he and Rhodes started brawling, the Visionary got in a couple of decent shots.
❤️❤️❤️❤️@CodyRhodes#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/uyhrou8I1z
— WWE (@WWE) April 3, 2022
In nearly every manner, the account seemed to suggest that these two were on par. They countered each other multiple times to demonstrate that they were familiar with one other’s game plan. Despite the fact that this was Rhodes’ huge comeback, it was not a one-sided battle. Rollins made him earn his victory.
Rollins and Rhodes used numerous of their most powerful attacks. Rhodes won by hitting the Cross Rhodes twice, followed by a series of Bionic Elbow punches and a third Cross Rhodes to seal the win. This was an excellent way for him to make his comeback.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
This was one of the night’s top three matches. They put forth a lot of effort to ensure that this wasn’t simply another forgettable chapter in their long-running dispute. When the fighting stopped, Flair retained her championship with a huge boot victory. But for Rousey this is far from over as she would have won if it wasn’t for the referee. Let’s see how will this feud end in future.
Winner: Charlotte Flair
Stone Cold stepped out to a standing ovation to offer his rebuttal to KO’s trash talk. He took his time arriving to the ring, performing multiple times in front of the crowd. He appeared a bit taken aback that Owens genuinely wanted to talk to him.
KO officially challenged the veteran to a No Holds Barred match after some more comments. Surprisingly, Stone Cold accepted and summoned a referee to seal the deal. When the bell rang, they locked gazes in the middle of the ring before Austin unleashed his fury in the corner.
They brawled all across the stadium, into the audience, and all the way up to the stage. Both men used suplexes on hard surfaces, and a few tables were shattered in the process. The Rattlesnake hit his own Stunner for the victory after Austin kicked out of KO’s Stunner and evaded a chair shot.
Winner: Stone Cold Steve Austin
