WrestleMania 41 Night 1 Review
- Linus O'Howell
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther VS Jey Uso
WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada kicked off with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line as Gunther took on “Main Event” Jey Uso! This was an alright start to the show, it didn’t blow anything out of the waters, but it was still decent enough! Gunther looked very strong here, he did most of the heavy lifting, but Jey Uso also brought it by hitting both his and his opponents’ greatest hits! Jey kicked out of a Powerbomb whilst Gunther kicked out of an Uso Splash, and it looked like it could go either way! However, the ending was a complete surprise as not only did Jey Uso get the win to become the brand-new World Heavyweight Champion, but Uso made The Ring General tap out which feels absolutely insane to say! I have no idea where WWE goes from here with Gunther, him tapping out doesn’t exactly fit his character, but this was a massive moment for Jey Uso, and one he definitely deserved!
Grade: B-
World Tag Team Championships: The War Raiders VS The New Day
It was then time for the World Tag Team Championships to be on the line as The War Raiders looked to retain over The New Day! Whilst the video package was pretty good, the intrigue heading into this match wasn’t very high, it never felt like a WrestleMania clash, and the crowd didn’t seem to care as a result. All four men tried their best, and there were some decent moments in it, but in the end, it was The New Day who got the win as Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods bent the rules to capture the World Tag Team Championships!
Grade: C+
Jade Cargill VS Naomi
The next match was a clash of two Rivals as Jade Cargill went one-on-one with Naomi! Whilst the match before still had some interesting spots, this match wasn’t that great in my opinion, it just felt very meh! The flow wasn’t there either, it was pretty slow, and this was another match that didn’t give me WrestleMania vibes! Also, on another note, Naomi’s just turned Heel so she needs to be portrayed as a winner, but that didn’t happen here as Cargill delivered a Powerbomb followed by Jaded to get the win! I wouldn’t have had Jade win here, but it is what it is!
Grade: C
United States Championship: LA Knight VS Jacob Fatu
The United States Championship was the next Title to be on the line as Jacob Fatu aimed to dethrone LA Knight! This was probably the best match up to this point, I thought both LA and Jacob did a really good job getting the intrigue up after a couple of less-interesting matches, and the crowd were getting more invested too! I feel like LA Knight deserves a lot of praise because he has definitely improved in-ring over the past 12 months, and Jacob Fatu has been a fantastic edition to the company! There was a great near-fall following a mid-air BFT as Jacob managed to put his hand on the bottom rope, and in the end, Fatu delivered not 1, but 2 Moonsaults onto Knight to get the win and become the brand-new United States Champion! This was definitely better!
Grade: B-
El Grande Americano VS Rey Fenix
After an unfortunate injury to Rey Mysterio, Rey Fenix stepped in to try and uphold the respect of Lucha Libre against the masked Luchador known as El Grande Americano! Firstly, El Grande Americano had a special entrance, and that is a ridiculous sentence (in the best possible way)! The match itself was decent, it flowed very well, but it was another case of a contest that shouldn’t really be on The Showcase of the Immortals! However, it was kind of cool for Rey Fenix to step up, and the ending caught me off guard as El Grande nailed Fenix in the head with the metal plate inside his mask before Americano delivered a flying headbutt to get the win! The fact that El Grande Americano is 1-0 at WrestleMania is just insane!
Grade: C+
WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton VS Charlotte Flair
In the penultimate match of the night, Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair clashed with the WWE Women’s Championship on the line! I need to mention Tiffany Stratton’s entrance because her coming out of a Barbie box was very much a full-circle moment from her days back in NXT, and as someone that’s watched Tiffany’s entire Wrestling career, that was very cool! Unfortunately, the match itself didn’t quite click, once again something seemed a little off, and that’s probably the definition of this entire feud! I feel like there were some good moments, Charlotte getting her knees up for the Prettiest Moonsault Ever was well done, and Stratton taking advantage of Flair’s injured knee was also very smart. However, there were too many occasions in this match where things just weren’t clicking, and it hurt the overall contest, which is a shame because both women are very capable performers. Also, the ending felt slightly anticlimactic as Tiffany Stratton just won with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever, but I am happy that Tiffy retained!
Grade: C+
Roman Reigns VS CM Punk VS Seth “Freakin” Rollins
And in the Main Event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 41, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth “Freakin” Rollins clashed in an all-time Triple Threat Match! Seth Rollins’ entrance was great, it was really cool, and CM Punk’s entrance felt special, like it was a proper big deal. Amazingly, Roman Reigns was the one with the lesser entrance here, but having The Bloodline appear on the hanging screens as Reigns walked down to the ring was a very nice effect! The match itself was fantastic, easily the match of the night, like it’s not even close! All 3 men can’t stand each other, for multiple different reasons, and they’re 3 of the greatest performers of all time, so to say that this felt big time would be a serious understatement! There were lots of good near falls, with Roman kicking out of both a Pedigree/Stomp combo from Seth and a GTS from Punk, and the big factor throughout this match was Paul Heyman! Now, Reigns was clearly angry with Heyman for being in the corner of CM Punk, and this led to The Tribal Chief going on a tear as he put both of his opponents through a table, followed up by a Spear to Rollins for another great near-fall! After everyone once again got dropped by one another’s finishers, Paul Heyman grabbed a steel chair, and handed it to CM Punk to the sheer disgust of Roman Reigns! However, The Wiseman then showed his true allegiance to as he low-blowed Punk as Roman had the biggest smile you have ever seen! Reigns then smashed Punk in the back with multiple chair shots as Paul convinced Roman to do the same to Seth Rollins in a reverse of the Shield betrayal, but Heyman’s scheme still wasn’t done as The Special Counsell turned on his Tribal Chief, delivering another low blow to Roman before he handed over the chair to Seth! Rollins then got some chair shots in of his own before The Visionary nailed Reigns with a Stomp to get the massive victory! This meant that Night 1 of WrestleMania 41 went off the air with Paul Heyman standing beside Seth “Freakin” Rollins, and that is a crazy visual! Personally, I loved this, Seth Rollins deserved to win a Main Event match, he’s been an absolute star for years, and Roman Reigns’ acting was just perfection! It was also a great moment for CM Punk, he’s fought hard to Main Event WrestleMania, and Paul Heyman, well he might just be the biggest Heel of them all!
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