Does WrestleMania actually take place if barely any wrestling happens in the ring?
Night one of WrestleMania 42 was four hours long and four of the matches were less than nine minutes in length. A couple others were around 15 minutes and Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton was a little over 20. Roughing some numbers, that’s a max in-ring time of 88 minutes on a 240 minute show. Yikes.
The event had the pageantry. It had size. It had the WrestleMania pizazz with cool entrances. It just legit felt like the matches themselves were sacrificed in order for that other stuff happen. Priorities were misaligned in that regard and revealed that those in charge of WWE right now may not actually know what the WrestleMania brand is or means.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. Period.
The Usos & LA Knight vs. The Vision & IShowSpeed
The reason for this match existing at all was for the Yeet entrance and Speed doing the big table spot with Logan Paul after it ended — both of which were very over. That’s it, though. The match itself was kept safe and easy. Overall, The Vision came across weak and this was an odd spot for someone like Logan Paul.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - O 1/2
Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu - Unsanctioned Match
A strong battle. Fatu whipping the hell out of McIntyre with a belt stood out as one of the more intense moments, but his moonsault finish on McIntyre through a table was the highlight. Fatu definitively won this match and that was the right call. He’s on the rise and needs effective wins to maintain momentum. Fatu can really go anywhere now. Drew rematch? Orton title match? Both makes sense for him.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Nia Jax & Lash Legend vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. Paige & Brie Bella - Fatal Four-Way WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match
Paige is back in WWE. She got a huge reaction as Brie Bella’s surprise partner. Awful for Nikki Bella to have to miss the match. This was full of fun action and built around the Paige return. She got the hot tag and landed the pin on Alexa Bliss for the win. Commentary talked a lot about how close Bliss and Flair were to winning. You could be looking at the next challengers for the new champs there.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch - WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship
A shorter match than expected, but not a bad one. AJ Lee didn’t need to overextend herself in this one by trying to do things she couldn’t do. They kept it simple and it worked well. The match was structured around Lynch’s referee feud and a missing ring cover that left the turnbuckle exposed. Both of those factored into Lynch winning and becoming the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion once again. She needed the victory and that was the right way to end the story. Is it truly over, though? With Lynch using the turnbuckle to win, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them run the rubber match back at Backlash.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 3/4
Seth Rollins vs. Gunther
This went exactly as you thought and that’s a big compliment. Not a lot of build to this, but enough. Given who the guys in the match were, it had lofty expectations. Rollins and Gunther met them. Strong action and plenty of drama. So, you expected a good match and got it. You could also see the finish coming a mile away and you got that too. Bron Breakker getting involved and costing Rollins the match got Gunther the win he needed and gave the Breakker vs. Rollins program a nice jolt of momentum at the same time.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/2
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan - WWE Women’s World Championship
Not a bad match, but short. Like, much too short to even come close to being an epic championship match at WrestleMania. It was good for what it was, though. Both Morgan and Vaquer had cool entrances that showed off the power of WrestleMania and the bout didn’t match that hype. The WWE machine is behind Liv Morgan, so putting the belt on her is a reasonable play. What happens to Vaquer? She needs to pivot into a personal feud quickly, so as not to get lost in the shuffle away from the title.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton - Undisputed WWE Championship
This match made absolutely zero sense. It was constructed in a way that clearly wanted to put heat on Rhodes and get Orton cheered. Why else does Rhodes viciously work over Orton’s back? Why else does Rhodes arrogantly steal Orton’s moves? It was a heel match for him. All of that would have made sense had they actually gone through with a full double turn. Orton babyface and Rhodes heel. That match hit a crescendo just like you’d want it to in that regard. Plus, Orton took Pat McAfee out with an RKO. Again, a babyface move given the story that had played out. So, all of that made sense, was compelling, and actually worked in terms of getting the reaction that was obviously wanted. Then, Orton attacked Rhodes from behind with the championship belt and undid everything. As soon as he did that, all the compelling material from earlier in the match evaporated into nothing. Rhodes and Orton both became immediately miscast. Make no mistake, Rhodes turned heel in this match. He was then turned babyface again. Here’s the thing. You only get one shot at a truly memorable heel turn. They did it here with Rhodes at WrestleMania — the biggest stage possible. But also? Not really. The next time WWE tries to do it again, it won’t mean as much. A pretty epic disaster that was fun to watch because it was so off the wall.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - O 1/2
What did you think of WrestleMania 42 Night One? Let us know in the comments!
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