This past weekend, Wrestlemania 39 was held on Saturday, April 1st, and Sunday, April 2nd, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Streaming on Peacock, both shows had two hour pre-shows that began at 6pm EST. Latin Pop Singer Becky G sang "America The Beautiful" on the first night, while Country Music Star Jimmie Allen started the second night off with the same number. Kevin Hart handled the cold openings for both nights, while Snoop Dogg joined the Miz for hosting duties. Unbeknownst to the Miz, Snoop Dogg scheduled two impromptu matches for The Miz, one with Pat McAfee and the other with Shane McMahon. Miz was pinned in both contests, but only one was by the original opponent. When Shane legitimately injured his knee only minutes into the match, Snoop Dogg took it upon himself to lay out the Miz and pin him by paying homage to The Rock.
The stiffest match was Sunday's Intercontinental Championship match, where Gunther had to go against both Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. Between the chops, blows to the chest, Brogue kicks and Claymores, these boys hit hard. The chest of Sheamus appeared to have been busted open, but he made up for it with the damage he inflicted on his opponent's bodies. He even received a standing ovation, but Gunther was still victorious.
It was a nice moment when John Cena opened the fighting on night one by joining the Make-A-Wish kids on stage. Austin Theory needed a low blow and an incapacitated referee to win this one. The Men's Showcase Match featured Ricochet and Braun Strowman facing off against the Viking Raiders, Alpha Academy and the Street Profits, who won the match. Incredibly, Chad Gable was able to pull off a rolling suplex on Strowman. Logan Paul, with KSI in a Prime costume, lost to Seth Rollins. A conductor led the crowd in singing along with Seth's entrance music. I still am amazed at Paul jumping to the top rope before hitting a moonsault. Damage CTRL faced and lost to Lita, Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus. Lita appeared to be too cautious with some of her moves telling me that she lost a step.
Dominik Mysterio faced off against his dad Rey Mysterio, who was supported by a Cinnamon Toast Crunch mascot. When Damian Priest and Finn Balor appeared ringside in support of Dominik, Legado del Fantasma came running out as the newly formed LWO to protect Rey, who won the match after Bad Bunny grabbed the chain that Dominik was going to use on his father. The Smackdown Women's Championship featured Charlotte Flair against Rhea Ripley in what had to be one of the better matches ever, male or female. With Ripley winning the title, Flair left with a major burn on her nose. Crowning new Undisputed Tag Team Champions, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens had a brutal match against the Usos. The Usos lost despite having Lil Uzi Vert walk out with them in song and Jey stealing the Helluva Kick.
Brock Lesnar hit the F-5 after his first try taking down Omos, leading off the second night. The Women's Showcase Match featured Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez against Natalya and Shotzi, Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, and Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green. Highlights included Rodriguez power bombing Morgan into a cluster of her opponents and Natalya executing a double sharpshooter on Green and Deville. Rousey and Deville won the match in an anti-climatic finish with Rousey applying an armbar on Shotzi. Bianca Belair kept her Raw Women's Championship after defeating Asuka. Asuka may have had this match won if she didn't miss with the green mist. "The Demon" Finn Balor not only lost in his Hell-In-A-Cell match against Edge but also required medical attention after being busted open when he had a ladder tossed at him mid-match. The only disappointment here is that the rumors weren't true about Gangrel returning to his Brood mate for this match.
The Universal WWE Championship was defended by Roman Reigns against the challenger Cody Rhodes in a hard-hitting battle with Solo Sikoa eventually interfering. The Usos came out to interfere also but soon came face-to-face with Zayn and Owens. While this match was long, it moved at a steady pace and I was shocked when Reigns came out victorious. I was sure that it was Cody's time! I didn't even mention that George Kittle left his 49er jersey at home to tangle with the Miz. I really should have broken this up into a few blogs but my head is still spinning on how great the telecast was.
