WrestleMania SmackDown: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
28 men enter the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and the first man to be eliminated is Baron Corbin as he gets chucked out straight away by Xavier Woods. Hit Row, Los Lotharios, Maximum Male Models and The O.C. are all the next people to be eliminated mostly by either Bobby Lashley, Karrion Kross and Bronson Reed. Legado Del Fantasma then chucks out both Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander before the Brawling Brutes’ Ridge Holland and Butch eliminate Wilde and Del Toro. Elias and Rick Boogs then get into an argument when Boogs nearly accidentally eliminated his “mentor”. This results in both men being eliminated by Johnny Gargano. Dexter Lumis is then able to eliminate Ridge Holland before Butch knocks Lumis to the outside eliminating him. Last year’s winner Madcap Moss is then able to eliminate both Johnny Gargano and Butch (who were fighting on the apron) before Moss gets chucked out by Bronson Reed. Karrion Kross was then surprisingly eliminated by Santos Escobar whilst on the other side of the ring, Mustafa Ali was able to dump Dolph Ziggler over the top rope to get rid of his rival. Unfortunately for Ali, he bumped into Bronson Reed when he got back into the ring, resulting in Reed chucking Ali out of the battle royal. We were then down to 5 as Bobby Lashley, Bronson Reed, LA Knight, Santos Escobar and Xavier Woods were all still hanging on in there. Xavier Woods was then thrown over the top rope, but the founder of UpUpDownDown is able to hold on. However, Baron Corbin appears from nowhere to pull Woods off the apron and onto the floor. Santos Escobar then tries his best to eliminate Bronson Reed, but in the end, the Aussie is too powerful and he dumps the Emperor of Lucha Libre to the outside. We then get an awesome stare-off between Bronson Reed and Bobby Lashley which ends up resulting in the All Mighty eliminating the Colossal one. As Bobby looks at Bronson, LA Knight comes in from behind and eliminates Lashley to win the 2023 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. YEAH!
NXT Stand and Deliver
NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships: Fallon Henley and Kiana James VS Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn
The first match of the day in LA takes place on the Stand and Deliver kickoff show as Fallon Henley and Kiana James put their NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships on the line against Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn. After hearing the news about what Kiana James has been up to, Brooks Jensen isn’t around for the match and Fallon Henley and Kiana James clearly can’t work on the same page. This results in Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn picking up a convincing win to become the brand-new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Johnny Gargano VS Grayson Waller
The first match on the main show of NXT Stand and Deliver sees the Rebel Heart return home as Johnny Gargano takes on the Arrogant Aussie Grayson Waller. This match is under Unsanctioned rules meaning anything goes and no one is liable for what takes place in this match. Gargano and Waller have a 20-minute classic featuring lots of different weapon spots and we also see Johnny Wrestling kick out of Waller’s Stunner. In the end, it’s the cockiness of Waller that costs him as he goes over and talks trash to Candice LeRae. This result in Indi Hartwell arriving and dropping Waller before she chucks the Arrogant Aussie into the ring and he gets dropped with the One Final Beat as Johnny Takeover picks up a redemption victory.
NXT Tag Team Championships: Gallus VS The Creed Brothers VS Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo
The NXT Tag Team Championships are on the line in a triple threat match as Gallus look to retain their gold against the Creed Brothers and the D’Angelo Family. The three teams get time to showcase their abilities and the Creed Brothers look particularly good in this match. As Julius Creed is about to hit Tony D’Angelo with the lariat, Stacks jumps in the way and he takes the bullet for the Don. Julius then chucks Tony D into the ring post before he turns around and gets met with Gallus’ finisher as the champions retain their gold.
NXT Women’s Championship Ladder Match: Roxanne Perez VS Zoey Stark VS Tiffany Stratton VS Lyra Valkyria VS Gigi Dolin VS Sol Ruca
On the final NXT before Stand and Deliver, Sol Ruca pins Ivy Nile to win the second chance qualifying match before the show ends with Roxanne Perez coming out and saying that she's cleared to compete in the match on Saturday. The match then happens and this is completely bonkers. Everyone involved gets to show what they’ve got and everyone comes close to winning the title. Lyra Valkyria gets sent crashing through a ladder bridged between the ring and the barricade whilst Gigi Dolin gets dropped by Zoey Stark’s K360. Sol Ruca then pulls off the craziest moment of the night as she delivers the Sol Snatcher onto Stark from the top of the ladder. Tiffany Stratton then throws Ruca into a chair set up in the corner before the final two standing are Tiffany Stratton and Roxanne Perez. The two fight on top of the ladder, but in the end, Roxanne gets pushed off by Tiffany and she grabs the gold to become the brand-new NXT Women’s Champion.
Chase University VS The Schism
Chase U take on the Schism with the University on the line. Ava gets to make her in-ring debut as she battles Thea Hail whilst questions surround Duke Hudson’s loyalty to the University. Thea Hail dives from the top rope and hits a crossbody onto Ava on the outside before the Dyad catches Tyler Bate and drop him through the table. However, they then get dropped as Duke Hudson does a crazy dive to take them all out of the equation leaving Andre Chase and Joe Gacy alone in the ring. Joe Gacy misses with his lariat and this allows the founder of Chase University to pick up the victory with the surprise roll-up. Andre Chase, Duke Hudson and Thea Hail then all hug in the ring whilst Tyler Bate waves to the crowd.
NXT North American Championship: Wes Lee VS Dragon Lee VS JD McDonagh VS Ilja Dragunov VS Axiom
The NXT North American Championship is the next belt to be on the line as Wes Lee looks to retain his championship in a Fatal 5-Way against the debuting Dragon Lee, the Irish Ace JD McDonagh, the CZAR Ilja Dragunov and Axiom (who won the battle royal on NXT to earn this opportunity). This is a pretty great match where everyone involved performs to their best. JD McDonagh and Ilja Dragunov continue their blood feud whilst Wes Lee and Axiom go at it. Meanwhile, Dragon Lee is taking everyone out! In the end, Axiom tries the Golden Ratio on Ilja Dragunov, but he misses and Dragunov instead delivers the Torpedo Moskau. Ilja then gets dropped with the Devil Inside by JD McDonagh before McDonagh gets met with the Cardiac Kick by Wes Lee. Lee then turns around and gets planted with Dragon Lee’s finisher as the former NJPW star picks up the win and the NXT North American Championship in his debut.
NXT Championship: Bron Breakker VS Carmelo Hayes
A Main Event 20 months in the making takes place in the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California as Bron Breakker defends his NXT Championship against Carmelo Hayes. These two put on a 25-minute classic which sees both men come super close to picking up the victory. Bron delivers a huge Spear to Hayes late on, but Melo is able to kick out before Trick Williams jumps into the ring. Breakker then wrecks Trick Willy with a Spear, but Bron is now in the perfect position for Melo to deliver Nothin’ but Net. However, Bron amazingly kicks out, becoming the first man to ever do so. Breakker then rallies again by delivering another Spear before he drops “HIM” with the Military Press Slam, but even that isn’t enough for Breakker to get the victory. He tries one last Spear but gets dropped with a poisonrana by Hayes before Melo climbs up to the top rope and hits a second Nothin’ but Net to pick up the victory meaning NXT Stand and Deliver ends with Carmelo Hayes once again being the A Champion.
WrestleMania 39: Night One
United States Championship: Austin Theory VS John Cena
The first match of WrestleMania 39 sees Austin Theory put his United States Championship on the line against his childhood hero John Cena. Cena comes out first to get the crowd going, but it’s Austin Theory that’s on top for most of this match. However, Theory ends up being too cocky and John Cena uses his experience to fire back before he delivers the Five Knuckle Shuffle and the Attitude Adjustment which Theory is able to just about kick out of. Cena then tries another AA, but this time, Theory reverses and drops Cena with the A-Town Down for another near fall. In the end, though, Austin takes advantage of the referee being down by delivering a low blow to Cena before he hits a second A-Town Down to get the biggest victory of his young career.
Brock Lesnar VS Omos
Brock Lesnar takes on Omos in a battle between two proper heavyweights. This match is pretty short and even though Brock is able to hit Omos with a Suplex, he can’t get the Nigerian Giant up for an F5 which allows Omos to deliver a tree-slam to the Beast. However, this isn’t enough to keep Brock down for three and in the end, Lesnar is the one who’s able to pick up the win after Omos taps in the kimura lock.
Becky Lynch, Lita and Trish Stratus VS Damage CTRL
Becky Lynch teams up with two WWE Hall of Famers in Lita and Trish Stratus to take on Damage CTRL. The faces are definitely in control of this match, but they can’t seem to keep hold of it for too long due to the really clever tactics from Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai. Near the end of this match, Iyo Sky delivers a beautiful moonsault onto Becky Lynch on the outside before Lita does one of her own to take out the former NXT Women’s Champion. Back in the ring, Trish Stratus has Dakota Kai in the corner and she doesn’t realise that Bayley makes the blind tag. Stratus then delivers the Chick Kick to Kai before Bayley comes in and hits the Rose Plant onto Trish to pick up a huge pinfall victory for both her and Damage Control.
Rey Mysterio VS Dominik Mysterio
Rey VS Dominik. Mysterio VS Mysterio. It all takes place live in Los Angeles, California on WrestleMania Saturday. Rey Mysterio gets a positive reaction when he comes down to the ring whilst Dominik Mysterio gets absolutely booed out of the building. Rey Mysterio outworks his son in this match, but he never really gets on top due to Dominik using heel tactics. Rey eventually drops his son, but as he’s going for the 619, Damian Priest arrives from nowhere and catches him. The referee then shouts at Priest whilst Dominik, behind the referee’s back, scrapes the eyes of his father. He then delivers the 619 to Rey before he picks up the huge victory with his Frog Splash.
Seth “Freakin” Rollins VS Logan Paul
From one hated individual to another, Logan Paul makes his way down to the ring for his match with Seth “Freakin” Rollins. The two men go on to have a “match of the weekend” contender and an early contender for “match of the year”. Both men pull out all of their big moves and Seth Rollins comes close to picking up the victory after he delivered a Pedigree to Logan. Paul was able to kick out and his best moment in the match came when he hit the buckshot lariat onto Seth before he nearly picked up the victory with the Frog Splash. In the end, though, Seth Rollins reversed Paul’s attempt at the Stomp before he hit one of his own to pick up his first WrestleMania victory since 2019.
Men’s Showcase Match
The Men’s Showcase match is up next as Braun Strowman and Ricochet take on the Street Profits, Alpha Academy and the Viking Raiders. This match is primarily here for entertainment and to allow 8-men the opportunity to perform on the Showcase of the Immortals. Braun Strowman gets sent flying over the announce table by Angelo Dawkins before Ricochet does a dive that takes him out. Ford then hits his own dive onto Ricochet whilst in the ring, it’s a battle between the Viking Raiders and the Alpha Academy. Otis takes out Ivar before he gets distracted by Maxxine Dupri on the outside. The number 1 pupil then leaves the ring and walks off with the Models to the heartbreak of Master Gable. Chad then gets dropped by a huge knee from Erik, but as the Viking goes for the cover, Montez Ford delivers the Splash onto Erik’s back before he pins Chad Gable to earn the Street Profits the victory.
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair VS Rhea Ripley
The Main Event of WrestleMania 39 Night 1 sees Charlotte Flair put her SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line against Rhea Ripley. Rhea told the rest of the Judgment Day to not come out for tonight’s match because she wanted to prove that she can win on her own. It didn’t look like that was going to happen at one point though as Ripley just barely kicked out of Natural Selection. Rhea then locked in her submission onto Flair before the Queen reversed it and rolled through into the Figure-8. It’s worth mentioning that this was the way that Charlotte beat Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship back at WrestleMania 36, but unlike three years ago, Ripley was able to get herself out of it before she hit Flair with a Riptide. She then picked Charlotte up and hit a second Riptide to ensure the victory meaning WrestleMania Saturday went off the air with the Nightmare becoming the brand-new SmackDown Women’s Champion.
WrestleMania 39: Night Two
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: The Usos VS Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
The crowd were electric straight away on WrestleMania Sunday as Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn made their way to the ring. The Usos then came out as they were looking to continue their record-setting tag team title reign. This match was as good as expected with all four men showcasing just how good they’ve been for years if we’re being honest. KO came close to picking up the win with a Stunner and the same can be said when Sami delivered the Helluva Kick onto Jimmy Uso. The Usos were able to battle back and Jey nearly got the win with the Uso Splash. The Usos then went up to either side of the ring as they went for their double Uso Splash onto Sami Zayn. However, KO pushed Jimmy to the outside before he hit a Stunner onto Jey Uso. Jimmy then got back in the ring and Owens wrecked him with the Pop-Up Powerbomb before he through Jey into the corner, allowing Sami Zayn to deliver one final Helluva Kick to pick up a famous victory.
Intercontinental Championship: Gunther VS Drew McIntyre VS Sheamus
The Intercontinental Championship was on the line in the next match of the night as Gunther looked to retain against both Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. This match is full of loud, hard-hitting shots where all three men are left battered by the end. At one point, Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick onto Gunther and as he goes for the pin, Drew McIntyre chucks him out of the ring and tries to steal one. However, the Ring General kicks out so Drew delivers a Claymore Kick to the Champion and it’s Sheamus’ turn to chuck his “buddy” out of the ring, but once again, Gunther kicks out. Imperium then show up to try and help their leader, but both Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci get attacked by the Brawling Brutes’ Butch and Ridge Holland before the two teams brawl up the ramp. Meanwhile, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre are exchanging hard hits in the middle of the ring before Gunther runs through them both. He then hits the Last Symphony on McIntyre before he hits a Powerbomb on Sheamus who lands on Drew’s back. This results in Gunther picking up the win after pinning the Scottish Warrior to retain his Intercontinental Championship.
LA Knight VS Bobby Lashley
During the celebration of all of the 2023 Hall of Fame inductees, LA Knight makes his way down to the ring for a huge pop. The Megastar celebrates his Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal victory which includes taking shots at Bobby Lashley. He then says that WrestleMania is now a better show because he’s on it before the All Mighty’s music hits. Bobby Lashley looks pissed as he makes his way down to the ring whilst meanwhile, a referee is entering the ring. Bobby rolls straight into the ring and hits a Spear on LA Knight before he locks him in the Hurt Lock for a quick victory. Interestingly, Lashley then gets attacked from behind by Solo Sikoa. Clearly angry about his brothers' loss earlier on in the night, Sikoa hits the Samoan Spike on Lashley before he also delivers one to mister Knight.
Edge VS Finn Balor: Hell in a Cell
Edge is already in the ring as the “Demon” makes his way down the ramp. The cell then comes down leaving just Edge and Balor to fight it out. These two use all sorts of different weapons and we get multiple finisher kick outs including Balor kicking out of the Spear and Edge kicking out of the Coup de Grace. The turning point however comes when Finn Balor goes low. He then hits 1916 on the Rated-R Superstar before he picks up the victory with a second Coup de Grace.
Women’s Showcase Match
It’s now time for the Women’s Showcase match as the team of Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey take on Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, Shotzi and Natalya and the team of Chelsea Green and Carmella. Both Shotzi and Natalya get taken out of the equation by Shayna Baszler before Carmella tries to sneak a roll-up victory. This doesn’t work and Rousey then locks in the armbar on Mella. However, this gets broken up as Raquel hits her corkscrew elbow drop onto the pair whilst Liv Morgan takes out Shayna Baszler with a code-red. Raquel then hits the Tejana Bomb on Chelsea Green before Liv hits the ObLIVion on Carmella to earn the victory for the babyface team.
Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair VS Asuka
The Raw Women’s Championship is on the line in the penultimate match of the weekend as Bianca Belair looks to go 3-0 at WrestleMania as she takes on the Empress of Tomorrow Asuka. I can safely say that this match is a lot better than the feud itself as both women are able to showcase just how talented they truly are. The amount of strikes and kicks from Asuka is ridiculous whilst the EST of WWE shows off her impressive power. In the end, Belair attempts the K.O.D. but Asuka reverses it into the Asuka Lock which leaves Bianca no other choice than to tap out.
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns VS Cody Rhodes
The Main Event of WrestleMania 39 sees the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns put his 945-day world title reign on the line against the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes. Both men bring it and then some in this match and the first big moment of the match comes when Roman locks in the Guillotine on Rhodes. However, the American Nightmare is able to escape the manoeuvre before he hits Cody Cutter for a two-count. Roman then hits Rhodes with a Superman Punch before he delivers the Spear, but Cody’s just able to lift his shoulder off the mat before the count of 3. Roman then goes for another Spear, but he gets caught by Rhodes who delivers the Cross Rhodes for another near fall. The Usos then appear at ringside and as Jimmy gets on the Apron, Jey gets in the ring. He goes to hit the Superkick on Cody Rhodes, but the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble winner gets out of the way and Jey’s foot connects with Roman’s face. Sami Zayn then pulls Jimmy off of the apron and throws him into the steel steps whilst Kevin Owens pulls Jey out of the ring and he sends him crashing through the announce table with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Cody Rhodes then hits a second and a third Cross Rhodes and as he pins Roman Reigns, the ref goes 1, the ref goes 2, the ref goes... Roman Reigns kicks out! As KO and Sami Zayn watch on, Solo Sikoa attacks both of them from behind before he jumps onto the ring apron. Cody Rhodes then charges at Solo and even though he sends Sikoa to the outside, Solo was able to connect with the Samoan Spike whilst the referee’s view was blocked. Cody, barely standing up, gets hit with a Spear and he’s unable to get back up meaning Roman Reigns retains his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. WrestleMania goes off the air with the Tribal Chief sitting in the corner of the ring, taking in what just happened.
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