Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens take undisputed tag-team titles
The Usos are identical twins who have been one of the best tag teams in the world for over a decade. Owens and Zayn are friends from Quebec who first gained notoriety working for the PWG promotion in Los Angeles over 15 years ago. They have teamed and feuded off and on since for many promotions.
This storyline has been expertly told and is one of the best WWE storylines in years. Zayn was friends with the Usos as part of Roman Reigns’ Bloodline faction. Jimmy warmed to Zayn early while Jey was more hesitant. When Jey finally embraced Zayn, they became close friends. When Reigns, Jimmy and Solo Sikoa turned on Zayn, Jey at first didn’t want to accept it because of his loyalty to Zayn. However, he eventually chose his family members and attacked Zayn. Zayn then sought to talk his old friend Owens into joining him. Owens at first was reluctant but eventually joined Zayn and they will try to capture the tag titles from the Usos together.
This was a fantastic match and a strong conclusion to an excellent show. The crowd chanted ole for Sami Zayn at the start. The Usos worked over Zayn for a while, before he got the tag to Owens. Owens hit a frog splash for two. Zayn hit a brain buster on the apron and Owens hit a swanton for another two. Zayn then hit a top rope splash for another two. The Usos regained control on Zayn. They gave Owens a double choke slam through the announce table. They hit 1D on Zayn but Zayn kicked out.
Jey trapped Zayn in the corner, talking trash and smacking him. Jey hit a helluva kick on Zayn but Zayn responded with an exploder suplex and made the tag to Owens. Owens hit a pair of pop up power bombs and the stunner for two. The four men squared off, with the Usos getting the better of it and working over Owens. They hit a double splash but Owens kicked out at two. Finally, Owens got the tag to Zayn. Zayn hit two helluva kicks on Jey. Owens cut off Jimmy with a stunner and Jey hit one last helluva kick on Jey for the pin. This was a feel good ending to a great story.
Winners: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens
Pat McAfee and George Kittle make life miserable for Miz
Miz and Snoop Dogg came to the ring. They announced an attendance of 80,497, which is a fake number. Miz said he wanted to have a match but he issued an open challenge and no one would accept. Former football player and media personality Pat McAfee came out to accept the challenge against a reluctant Miz.
McAfee caught Miz with a superkick coming off the ropes. Miz went to leave and shoved San Francisco 49er star George Kittle on the way out. Kittle jumped the barricade and gave Miz a clothesline. McAfee hit a swanton off the top to the floor on Miz and hit a punt for the pin.
Winner: Pat McAfee
Rhea Ripley outlasts Charlotte Flair for women’s championship
Charlotte Flair, the daughter of the legendary “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, has been one of WWE’s most pushed female wrestlers for years. She defends her title against Rhea Ripley, who has gotten hot as a heel calling herself “Mami” and in a storyline relationship with Dominik Mysterio. These two have significant history as they have had three high profile singles matches. Flair beat Ripley at WrestleMania 36, then again at Hell in a Cell 2021 by disqualification then again at Money in the Bank 2021. The question is whether WWE will finally pull the trigger on Ripley beating the older, more established star.
There were two stories to this match. The first was the unmistakable high quality, as the two women had a grueling, physical battle that built and peaked well. The other story was the crowd, which was quieter most of the way than any other match on the show by a wide margin and sided more with Ripley down the stretch. It was an excellent match but one undercut by the decision to make Flair a babyface going into it, a role she has never thrived in. However, there was the inherent problem that Ripley was firmly ensconced as a heel when Flair returned and this was the match they wanted.
The match was physical from the beginning with hard hitting strikes back and forth. Ripley used a German suplex off the ropes where Flair flipped in mid air. Flair hit natural selection but Ripley kicked out. Ripley’s riptide was countered into a German suplex, followed by another for Flair. Ripley hit a German of her own and Flair flipped again. She landed hard on her face and skinned her nose. Flair came back with a big boot and moonsault off the top to the floor.
Ripley hit a head butt and riptide but Flair kicked out. Ripley used a standing Texas cloverleaf but Flair got to the ropes. They traded hard forearms. Flair got the figure four but Ripley got to the ropes. Ripley knocked out Flair by sending her into the post and then hit riptide off the ropes for the pin. The crowd reacted very positively to Ripley as she scored the biggest win of her career.
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Bad Bunny helps Rey Mysterio teach his bratty son a lesson
Rey Mysterio is a genuine professional wrestling legend, an ahead of his time flyer who revolutionized the business and changed the standards for who could be a wrestler in the United States. Dominik is his son, who appeared on WWE television as a young child and joined the company as a full time wrestler in 2020. Dominik turned on his father in storyline and became a surprisingly effective bad guy, drawing some of the most negative reactions in WWE. Rey refused to fight his son for months but after Dominik insulted his mother, Rey finally accepted the match. It is one of the best built up matches on this year’s WrestleMania.
Both father and son had elaborate entrances. Dominik came out in a police van with handcuffs, fitting his gimmick that he’s claiming to be a hardened criminal when fans know he’s not and is just a spoiled brat playing tough. Rey came out in a low rider with Snoop Dogg to Nuthin’ But a G Thang then Eddie Guerrero’s old Lie, Cheat, Steal entrance music before finally his own theme.
This was a story based match and it worked well for what it was. After Rey gained the early advantage, he spanked Dominik with a belt. Dominik went to the outside and threw a drink in his sister’s face and then sent Rey into the post. Dominik told his mother to shut her mouth and she smacked him. Dominik’s allies Damian Priest and Finn Balor came out to interfere but Rey’s friends Legado del Fantasma fought them off.
Dominik went to use a chain but Bad Bunny, who was doing commentary at ringside, took it from Dominik and Rey hit the 619 and frog splash for the pin. With Bad Bunny hosting an upcoming WWE event in Puerto Rico, it would appear Rey and Bad Bunny will wrestle against Dominik and Priest and/or Balor.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus and Lita prevail over Damage CTRL
Trish Stratus and Lita were very popular performers, primarily in the 2000s, and they are returning for the big show here. Becky Lynch is one of the top female wrestling stars of all time, catching fire around 2018 and was the first woman to win a WrestleMania main event. She has cooled somewhat following an ill-advised heel turn. Bayley, Kai and Sky comprise the villainous Damage Control faction, which hasn’t clicked as hoped since being formed at SummerSlam of last year.
This match was set up by Becky Lynch and Lita winning the women’s tag titles from Kai and Sky in February. Bayley has teased tension with the other two members of her group while there have been rumors that Stratus will be taking additional matches following this one, so there are a lot of moving pieces in the match.
The match was pretty good. Damage CTRL worked over Lita in the early part of the match. Stratus got the tag and made a big comeback including a head scissors on Kai onto the floor. Sky later hit a moonsault off the top to everyone on the floor. A big brawl broke out. Lita hit a twist of fate, Stratus hit the chick kick, Lita hit the moonsault and Lynch used the manhandle slam on Bayley off the ropes for the pin. This was an emphatic win for the faces. Stratus looked very good in her return while Lita was shakier.
Winners: Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus and Lita
Seth Rollins defeats Logan Paul after KSI shows up ringside
Seth Rollins is one of WWE’s longstanding top stars. Since he broke in with the Shield faction in 2012, few if any WWE wrestlers have delivered strong in ring performances as consistently as Rollins. Logan Paul is the famed social media personality who once boxed Floyd Mayweather Jr. and has taken to wrestling exceptionally well. Paul has only wrestled four matches heading into tonight but he has delivered great performances every time and is a natural villain. The story of this match was Paul knocking Rollins unconscious with a punch twice on television. Rollins has vowed revenge.
This was a great match. Paul delivered again and Rollins was his typically strong self. Both men made big entrances, with Paul riding down on a zip line and Rollins being accompanied by a conductor conducting the crowd to sing along with Rollins’ entrance song. Paul dominated early with mat wrestling. Rollins came back with three suicide dives. Paul hit his knockout punch but delayed covering selling his hand and Rollins kicked out.
Someone dressed as Paul’s energy drink pulled Rollins out of the ring and it was revealed to be fellow social media figure and boxer KSI. Paul was going to do a frog splash onto Rollins through a table on the outside but Rollins pulled KSI on top of the table and Paul crashed through KSI accidentally instead. Rollins hit a pedigree back in the ring but Paul kicked out. Paul hit a go 2 sleep and frog splash but his springboard was countered into a superkick ala Shawn Michaels/Shelton Benjamin. Rollins then hit the stomp for the win.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Street Profits prevail in WrestleMania 39 tag-team brawl
This tag team match is the lowest profile match of the evening, largely existing to get additional wrestlers on the card. Strowman and Ricochet are a classic big man/little man pairing with the monstrous Strowman and the agile high flyer Ricochet. Street Profits are a popular and charismatic team. Alpha Academy is comprised of Chad Gable and Otis. The rotund Otis is being recruited to be a model, testing his loyalty to his tag partner Gable. The Viking Raiders are a hard hitting team with long beards.
This was a spectacular sprint of a match, full of big spots from beginning to end. Chad Gable hit a German suplex on Braun Strowman early, an impressive feat of strength. Ivar missed a moonsault and then Strowman hit a top rope splash on Ivar. All the wrestlers did a tower of doom spot topped off with Ricochet hitting a crossbody off the top. Ricochet then hit an explosive shooting star press to the outside but when he went for another shooting star press in the ring, he was caught with Angelo Dawkins’ knees and Montez Ford soared with a frog splash for the win.
Winners: Street Profits
Austin Theory defeats John Cena for U.S. championship
The show started with an introductory video featuring Kevin Hart. Hart starred alongside John Cena in Die Hart 2, released Friday, but that was not plugged.
Miz and Snoop Dogg then did an additional welcome in the ring.
Cena went after Theory at the beginning but Theory turned the tide by biting Cena’s ear. After Theory had some success, Cena got the STF submission but Theory broke it by biting Cena’s fingers. After some additional control by Theory, Cena made his final comeback. Cena hit a few shoulder blocks, a side slam, the five knuckle shuffle and went for the AA. This led to a referee bump but Cena applied the STF again in the process. Theory tapped and Cena released the hold, but the referee was still unconscious. Theory then hit a low blow and the A-Town down for the pin.
Winner: Austin Theory
https://twitter.com/iamjohnpollock/status/1642323605634654208
‘We do it all: comedy wrestling, lucha libre.’ How Japanese indie talent is commanding WrestleMania weekend
The ecosystem of indie wrestling shows running alongside WWE’s annual Wrestlemania has become a tradition. It’s a time rife with opportunities for wrestlers, with plenty of work to go around and the chance to connect with fans more directly — it’s even become protocol for countless wrestlers from overseas to book their American tours around Mania Weekend. As Los Angeles continues transforming into a worldwide showcase for the richness and diversity of wrestling, this year fittingly features a bevy of international talent, particularly for practitioners of Japanese wrestling.
One of this weekend’s major events involves a direct collaboration between American and Japanese promotions: Thursday night’s IMPACT and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s “Multiverse United” at the Globe Theater, which brought together major Japanese stars such as Hiroshi Tanahashi and KENTA, along with North American indie darlings such as “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Lio Rush. Prestige Wrestling’s “Nervous Breakdown,” on Friday night, which features legends such as Aja Kong — one of the most celebrated women to step foot inside the ring — and up-and-coming talent such as powerhouse bruiser Shigehiro Irie will also take the Globe stage.
WWE stars Nikki and Brie Bella are no more. Reintroducing Nikki and Brie Garcia
The former Nikki and Brie Bella, also known collectively as the Bella Twins, announced Wednesday that they are leaving World Wrestling Entertainment and embarking on “a new chapter” — with new names.
From now on, the retired pro wrestlers, TV personalities and podcast hosts will go professionally by their birth names, Nikki and Brie Garcia. The duo reflected on their decision to exit WWE after 17 years on the latest episode of their podcast, “The Nikki & Brie Show.”
“We’re gonna be 40 in November. We’re mothers. We’re entrepreneurs. We’re executive producers. We’re ... hosting shows. And when our contract came up with WWE, we mutually ... knew we just needed to head into this new chapter,” Nikki Garcia said.
WrestleMania match preview: John Cena vs. Austin Theory for U.S. title
WWE runs its signature event of the year this weekend. The most anticipated WWE event in many years, WrestleMania 39 is likely to be the most viewed WrestleMania of all time and to see the most combined tickets sold over a WrestleMania weekend. Stay tuned here for live coverage of both nights, leading up to the main event Sunday on Night 2 — Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the undisputed WWE universal title.
U.S. championship: John Cena vs. Austin Theory
WrestleMania 39 kicks off with a battle between a legend and a rising star. John Cena was WWE’s top star for more than a decade before embarking on a successful acting career in such action movies as “F9,” “Bumblebee” and “The Suicide Squad” as well as the popular comedy series “Peacemaker.”
Austin Theory was groomed for stardom from a young age, holding the championship of WWE aligned independent promotion Evolve at age 20 and making it to the WWE main roster at age 24 in an industry where wrestlers tend to need more time to get their big breaks. This is the biggest match of Theory’s career to date by a wide margin.
The build for the match has been odd. Cena appeared only once to promote it, saying Theory theoretically should be a big star but the fans don’t care about him, WWE pipes in fake noise for his matches, and Cena doesn’t care about him. He added Theory hasn’t done anything with his opportunities and even if he beats Cena, Theory still won’t win over the audience.
Thus the story of the match is Theory trying to prove Cena wrong, something he also needs to do when it comes to his doubters, who feel he hasn’t attracted an audience that aligns with how much he has been promoted by WWE.
AEW, the first promotion to challenge WWE in two decades, is ready to make a run
As WWE heads toward this weekend’s presentation of its biggest show of the year, WrestleMania, its strongest competitor in over 20 years, All Elite Wrestling, or AEW, has major aspirations of its own.
The foundation of AEW in 2019 transformed the professional wrestling business. WWE had not had a real competitor since it purchased WCW in 2001. With monopolistic power, WWE’s product quality steadily declined and its fan base eroded. Its programming was often shaped not by the desires of the fan base but by the personal whims and quirks of its longtime head Vince McMahon. It was not unusual for fans to boo and heckle wrestlers presented as the good guys or the juvenile comedy segments that McMahon loved to present. This was most evident with Roman Reigns, who was presented as the company’s top hero but disliked by a significant portion of the fans.
Many wrestlers were also put off by the nature of the product and longed to work for a company with a more serious presentation, where they would have more freedom to talk and wrestle the way they wanted. Pro wrestling historically has used an extemporaneous presentation while WWE turned to scripts telling wrestlers how to act and speak rather than having flexibility to craft individualized characters. As such, both in front of and behind the camera, WWE was vulnerable to a challenge.
A look beneath the mask of Rey Mysterio before his Hall of Fame induction
Rey Mysterio is headlining the 2023 class of the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday, yet he is also in one of the premier matches at WrestleMania on Saturday or Sunday. It’s like inducting Mike Trout into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. How is this possible?
“I found out I was going into the Hall of Fame not too long before the whole world found out,” Mysterio told The Los Angeles Times. “And the reason from my understanding was, this is the closest we are to San Diego and Tijuana, two of the cities that witnessed my birth in real life, and witnessed my wrestling birth as well.”
The induction makes even more sense when you consider that Mysterio, real name Óscar Gutiérrez, started wrestling in 1989 when he was 14. Now at 48, he remains one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE history with replicas of his many masks being top sellers at arenas where they are on sale.
How WWE’s Vince McMahon reinvented his persona, his business and American politics
The WWE’s brand of sports entertainment has always existed in its own reality, sometimes unmistakably outlandish and sometimes resembling our own with the satirical volume turned up. It’s a universe where someone could conceivably be in two places at once — especially someone like Vince McMahon.
He has had the final say in the company for the better part of four decades while also portraying “Mr. McMahon,” a Lynchian evil boss character whose onscreen appeal draws on McMahon’s actual reputation for being a bit of a Lynchian evil boss. He has lied to wrestlers about their matches; engaged in petty business feuds and been accused of backstage abuses of power.
Facing sexual misconduct allegations last summer, he tweeted his retirement in July, only to return as chairman in January. But through it all, we’ve known little about the real Vince — his early life, his personal struggles — until now.
Ahead of WrestleMania, here’s a brief history of lucha libre in Los Angeles
If you want to understand how embedded lucha libre is to Mexican American identity in Los Angeles, all you have to do is take a walk through Olvera Street.
It won’t be long till you see the mask of Santo himself, and next to him — forever paired to the god of Lucha — is his rival, his co-star, his compadre Blue Demon. Their heyday of sellout crowds, and silver screen stardom may be 60 years past, but their legacy lives on in the booths that line the Mexican heart of Los Angeles.
Nashbli Rodriguez, a native of Nayarit and South L.A. resident, makes the trip to Olvera Street daily to help run booth C4, A La Mexican Imports, where she sells between 15 and 20 lucha masks a day. She says the most popular masks tend to be outlandish characters like Nacho Libre and L.A. Park — one a comedic take on a luchador, the other a luchador so comedic he’s a meme. Legends like Santo and Blue Demon may last, but they have to endlessly compete with the hottest fictional titans of our times: a Minion, Hello Kitty, and the visages of Marvel characters like Venom, Spider-Man, the Punisher and Black Panther (Namor is not easily turned into a mask, I suppose).
Shawn Michaels knew when it was time to retire; discusses WrestleMania matches
Shawn Michaels is known as “Mr. WrestleMania,” but would it surprise you to learn his WrestleMania record is 6-11? Seventeen times he stepped into the ring at wrestling’s biggest event, and 11 times he walked out without his hand being raised.
We recently talked to Michaels via video to get his comments about some of his most memorable WrestleMania matches.
WrestleMania 5 (Atlantic City), The Twin Towers (Big Bossman and Akeem) d. The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty)
“I remember the ending of it (the 400-pound+ Akeem splashed him). And again, it being that first WrestleMania moment and I was overjoyed to be just on that show. I think even then Marty and I felt like we were a group before our time. I think we’d probably be more appreciated now in this environment. But I thought we did some really special stuff that flies underneath the radar. But I think there are a lot of people that see this as really good work.”
WrestleMania: Rhea Ripley on being true to herself, working with Dominik Mysterio
Three years ago, many WWE fans expected that year’s WrestleMania 36 to be the launching point for Rhea Ripley. She was the women’s champion of WWE’s NXT brand, which often serves as the feeder league for the main WWE roster. Charlotte Flair, the most decorated female star in the WWE, won that year’s Royal Rumble, earning her a title shot against anyone she wanted. Instead of challenging the champion of the “Raw” or “SmackDown,” brands, Flair surprisingly challenged Ripley.
It was assumed that Ripley would win, move up to the main roster and become the dominate star. Instead, she lost by submission to Flair, then disappeared for a while returning to Australia to deal with work visa issues. She returned to NXT and didn’t get promoted until almost a year after WrestleMania 36. Over the last year, since becoming aligned with the Judgment Day faction, she has become arguably the most popular woman on the roster, even though she is a heel. With her goth look and power moves (occasionally even power slamming men), there is a definite buzz in the arena when she enters.
The subplots to ‘WrestleMania Goes Hollywood,’ explained
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime rarity to see two lauded dynasties clash on a worldwide platform. When two superstar talents with over a century of combined legacies meet face-to-face — it’s the type of dramatic conflict and spectacle of the human spirit only found in a pro wrestling ring. It’s Roman Reigns. It’s Cody Rhodes. It’s WrestleMania. And it’s this weekend.
This year, the event’s 39th installment will take place at Los Angeles’ own SoFi Stadium on April 1 and 2 with a build that’s truly special. For an event dubbed “WrestleMania Goes Hollywood,” the emotion and real-life circumstances surrounding WWE’s biggest event of the year couldn’t be more genuine.
The last time WrestleMania took place in L.A. — WrestleMania 21 in 2005, to be exact — the “Hollywood” subtitle wound up being rather prophetic, as the evening’s two biggest moments featured future Tinseltown A-listers John Cena and Dave Bautista winning their first WWE Championships. But 18 years later, beneath the glitz, glamour and pageantry that millions flock to Hollywood and WWE for, the stars have aligned for a reality-injected drama that no screenwriter could have put together. Allow us to provide you an easily digestible breakdown of all the plots to pay attention to in between body slams.
WrestleMania Night 1: How to watch and match predictions
The long-anticipated WrestleMania begins Saturday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, with seven matches on the card. Here’s how you can watch and a look at each of the matches.
What: WrestleMania 39
Where: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
When: 5 p.m. Pacific
How to watch: You must be a subscriber to Peacock TV to watch.
Matches
U.S. champion Austin Theory vs. John Cena
This match will open the show. The build has been interesting, with Cena rarely able to appear because of he is off shooting a movie. He still wrestles once or twice a year, and WWE hopes some of his superstar aura will rub off on Theory. If Theory wins, expect it to be via some type of illegal action, such as a low blow behind the ref’s back.