Night two of WrestleMania 41 had some memorable moments including an appearance from TNA World Champion Joe Hendry, the return of Becky Lynch, and a surprise appearance — and four wheeler crash — by Stone Cold Steve Austin. What it didn’t have was a main event rooted in any sort of logic or narrative that made sense in the confines of what we’ve seen for the last two months in WWE.
John Cena had to want to be a heel in front of 60,000 strong inside Allegiant Stadium opposite Cody Rhodes and instead, he simply acted like one to no avail. The audience was there for the taking. It wasn’t a 50/50 split at the start of their match, but there was enough fans teetering on the edge that a mean look here or there along with a smarter match layout could have pushed them over to Cody. That stuff didn’t happen. The result was a backward finish and ludicrous usage of Travis Scott without an appearance from The Rock.
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.
Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair - WWE Women’s World Championship Match
The match of the night by a wide margin. Had Ripley and Belair not looked so petulant and unlikable in the build to this, I’d be even more into this than I am. The action was so smooth and fast-paced and the story was both Belair and Ripley ignoring Sky. That matched the build and the finish of Sky winning and retaining her title put a bow on that story. Nothing wrong with that, but they took two big stars and neutralized them in order to get the story done.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 3/4
Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest - Sin City Street Fight
Exactly what you’d expect and I say that with all the respect in the world. This needed to be a brawl that featured all sorts of weaponry and locations. It was that. Both guys went through tables and the finish of Drew hitting the Claymore on Priest into a chair worked to differentiate it from just a run of the mill Claymore. It helped protect Priest. My guess is, this isn’t the last we see of these guys in a match together. Backlash looms.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Bron Breakker vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta vs. Finn Balor - WWE Intercontinental Championship Fatal Four-Way Match
Action-packed, but the story was Dominik Mysterio turning babyface and winning the championship. The audience loved him — especially when he turned on Balor — and that speaks to the deep connection they have together. The crowd was ready and it seemed like Dom called an audible to celebrate in the ring a second time after leaving. The other guys were there to further the match and they did, but this was entirely about Dom. Breakker didn’t lose and is protected. He now can move on to bigger and better things.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 3/4
Randy Orton vs. Joe Hendry
An absolute blast, but nothing that’s going to win any match of the year awards. Orton played the hits. Hendry played the hits. Orton won. The second RKO on Hendry was overkill.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO
Logan Paul vs. AJ Styles
A quiet outing. This didn’t have much of anything in terms of a big flashy stunt bump or social media mega post on the part of Paul. It just kind of happened and now it’s over. Styles looked like a real jerk when he punched Karrion Kross after Kross HELPED HIM. Not sure what the story is there, but it threw off the psychology of the finish.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - O 1/2
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Lyra Valkyria & Becky Lynch - WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match
Becky Lynch returned and got a tremendous reaction, which was a lot of fun. The match stalled out in second gear. Lynch and Valkyria weren’t oozing with chemistry and the action was pretty slow and plodding. The hot tag to Lynch worked just fine, so they got what they wanted, but it’s nothing you’ll remember by this time next year outside of Lynch returning to wrestle.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - O 3/4
Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena - Undisputed WWE Championship Match
Not good. On the low end of already concerned expectations. The audience was hot for the match, but for the wrong reason. They wanted John Cena to win. Once that happened and Cena didn’t work very hard to pivot them back, the entire match suffered. The steps and story of the match needed Cena to get booed in order to work. He wasn’t and it didn’t. Travis Scott? Look, if Travis Scott is going to be impacting world title matches like this, The Rock better be with him. His absence hurt not only this match — he’s an avenue for Cena to get the heat he needed — but, it hurt the overall build as well. Cody looked silly not hitting Cena with the belt, too. After all, this is the guy the destroyed him at Elimination Chamber. Take your shot! Cena is the champion now and that’s fine, but the storyline of him as a bad guy is hanging on by a thread after tonight. Big miss.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - O 1/2
What did you think of WrestleMania 41 Night Two? Let us know in the comments!
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