WWE WrestleMania XL (Night 1) Results
April 6, 2024
Lincoln Financial Field
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 72,543
It’s time Day and Night 1 of the Showcase of the Immortals, and ther 40th Anniversary of the biggest show put together by the biggest wrestling company to ever exist, World Wrestling Entertainment. This was such hype, I really couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into this show!
WWE Women’s World Title Match
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch
The Match:
This was a match that really had me and my friends on the edge of their seats. You see, we really did not want Rhea to lose to Becky here, because the thing is, and this was mainly my opinion, but the era of Becky Lynch and Charlotte being at the top of the pile may need to slowly be backed off from in favor for talent like Rhea, Bianca, Tiffany Stratton, Liv Morgan, IO SKY, etc. We have certainly seen enough from those two in the last 10 years, I just feel like it’s somebody elses turn! They did a really good job though in keeping the suspense high in this match and there were a few occasions where I thought Becky was going to win the Championship, but Rhea Ripley hit that Riptide and the household I was in exploded and Rhea retained in style, and in a great way to start off WrestleMania 40!
Winner: STILL WWE Women’s World Champion, Rhea Ripley via pinfall in 17:09.
WWE RAW Tag Team Title / WWE SmackDown Tag Team Title Six-Pack Ladder Match
The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor) (c) vs. Awesome Truth (R-Truth & The Miz) vs. #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller) vs. New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate)
The Match:
Many people out there may know I am not the biggest fan of the multi person Ladder Match. In this case though, I really thought this was a pretty good one in comparison to the ones I have seen over the last few years, especially the ones put together on AEW Pay Per Views just because Tony doesn’t know what to do to shoehorn everyone in on a show. When I saw that both Tag Team Titles were dangling separately, my greatest fears and horrors had become true. The WWE are separating the WWE Tag Team Titles again and keeping those ugly belts. I have a big thing about having 2 Tag Team Divisions because it just takes up extra TV time that isn’t necessary when the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles don’t get enough focus as it is, and let’s be honest, the Women need a Midcard title to fight for. Plus, the WWE PLE’s average 5-6 matches each time unless it’s a WrestleMania, they just aren’t going to get the focus they need having 3 Tag Team Divisions across 2 brands. A-Town Down Under won the Smackdown Tag Team Titles, which I think was the right call to give those young guys a boost, and Awesome Truth winning the RAW Tag Team Titles was the right thing to do on the other brand because veteran talent like R-Truth and The Miz need some focus and this gives them something fun to do going forward.
Winner/s: NEW Smackdown Tag Team Champions, A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller) in 7:32, and NEW RAW Tag Team Champions, Awesome Truth (R-Truth & The Miz) in 17:21.
Tag Team Match
Andrade & Rey Mysterio (w/Carlito, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde & Zelina Vega) vs. Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar (w/Angel Garza, Berto Carillo & Elektra Lopez)
The Match:
This was a big moment for Andrade, returning to WWE and having the opportunity to wrestle at WrestleMania after being wasted beyond belief for several years over in All Elite Wrestling. I do however feel bad for Dragon Lee’s opportunity being taken away from him, but this is Andrade’s first WrestleMania and he’s teaming with Rey Mysterio. On the other side of the coin, this is a big moment for Santos Escobar in his young career as well. The match was very good, they all really gelled well together, and anytime Dominik did anything, the crowd booed him out of the building. Rey Mysterio showed no signs of rust from his injury, and I can only wonder how many more years Rey has in him at this point with the injury woes. Despite all that, I was fairly surprised that Andrade and Rey picked up the big victory in this one because I really thought that Santos Escobar would gain a heap of momentum by beating Rey in his first match back, and I really hope it potentially leads to Santos taking on Rey 1 on 1 at Backlash in France in 3 weeks to get a sorely needed win to be elevated from this feud. We must look to the future! Andrade really impressed as well. I just wonder where exactly Carlito fits into the WWE right now, because he came back to join the L.W.O and it doesn’t really feel like he’s fitting in anywhere and has really taken a backseat. We need to look to the future as I just said, but somebody like Carlito certainly could be utilized more, especially in the ring.
Winner/s: Andrade & Rey Mysterio (w/Carlito, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde & Zelina Vega) in 11:02.
Singles Match
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
The Match:
This was a match that was HIGHLY anticipated for the absolute longest time. If you think about Matt Hardy Vs Jeff Hardy at WrestleMania 25, or Bret Hart Vs Owen Hart at WrestleMania 10 – this is that Brother Vs Brother match that you have been waiting YEARS for, right? We’ve seen these two up and down the roads as a Tag Team for the longest time. I was so hyped for this match and what we got in the end was the most disappointing match of the weekend, without a doubt in my mind. Not only did it only go 11 minutes and 7 seconds – and you know me, I don’t like long matches, but this should have gone between 15-20 minutes, and it should have been a rollercoaster ride and an emotional journey. Whoever agented this match – HUGE wag of the finger. A match like this should have had some heat, some fire, some anger, some passion, and what we got was 2 people superkicking eachother way too many times, with no peaks and valleys, no real suspense, none of those near falls we would expect, no PURE EMOTION seemed to come out here. I am never usually this critical but this match was literally the opposite of what I want expecting between the two. They had 1 shot at this and they absolutely blew it. Sorry boys. Also, the result was incorrect. Jimmy should have got the win here because where the F*CK do we go with this now?
Winner: Jey Uso via pinfall in 11:07.
Six Man Tag Team Match
Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill & Naomi vs. Damage CTRL (Asuka, Dakota Kai & Kairi Sane)
The Match:
Here came another hyped match and that would feature the proper in RING debut of Jade Cargill. Everybody I was watching this with, even friends who were watching it elsewhere, guys AND girls kept going on about how sizzling hot Dakota Kai looked. This was a fun match and it showcased Bianca, Jade and Naomi well. Naomi really needed something like this to help her with her return to WWE and get her footing, Bianca needed to be kept away from the WWE Women’s Championship scene and needed to do something a little less ‘Main eventy’, and Jade of course needed to make her debut and show that she had learned a lot during her time in the Performance Center. Asuka, Dakota and Kairi need to be given some props here for doing such a good job in making the babyfaces look strong here and for giving Jade the debut she deserved. P.S – I love Kairi.
Winner/s: Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill & Naomi via pinfall in 8:03.
WWE Intercontinental Title Match
Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn
The Match:
Words cannot describe how absolutely gutted and disappointed I was in the decision to have Gunthers title reign end here at the hands of Sami Zayn. Whilst the match itself was great, I had to scratch my head wondering why in the hell they would end Gunthers reign to somebody who had already won the Intercontinental Championship on 3 occasions and not somebody like Chad Gable who people really wanted to see win that belt for the first time? I understand this would have perhaps kept Sami off the card but I am sure you could have figured out something for him. I was just baffled at this decision. Plus – dude, WAY too many babyfaces went over on this show. Where’s the heat?
Winner: NEW WWE Intercontinental Champion, Sami Zayn in 15:29.
Tag Team Match
Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins vs. The Bloodline (Roman Reigns & The Rock) (w/Paul Heyman)
The Match:
It was time for the super hyped Main Event! If The Bloodline win, it’s Bloodline rules for Night 2 of WrestleMania when Cody faces Roman for the title. I could see what they were doing in this match up to protect the Rock just in case something happened. They all had very big matches to worry about the next day. It felt like the first 10 minutes was a lot of punching and kicking, slamming of heads into turnbuckles and steel stairs, but this match did go 44 minutes and 34 seconds long! I really loved the finish. Rollins was taken OUT and it just left Roman and Rock to show how formiddable they were, to take Cody out after a Rock Bottom.
Winner/s: The Bloodline (Roman Reigns & The Rock) (w/Paul Heyman) via pinfall in 44:34.
Final Thoughts:
It wasn’t a bad start to WrestleMania 40, But there were 7 matches. I would have had heels go over in at least 3 of them. The Bloodline, Gunther and Jimmy Uso should have won their matches. Nonetheless, Night 2 would be around the corner, and whilst I enjoyed Night 1, I think some of the match results and the disappointment of the Uso’s not having a barnburner to be remembered for years down the line kind of hurt things a little bit, despite how awesome everything else was!
