Courtesy of WWE
WRESTLEMANIA XL NIGHT TWO REVIEW
- Rob Crowther, Editor In Chief
After a devastating loss to Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins at the hands of the Bloodline's Roman Reigns and The Final Boss, The Rock, at night one of WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia, Night Two provided some much needed resolve, levity, FUN, and a fitting ending to several of the best long-term stories of all time.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the AMAZING performance of "God Bless America" by The War and Treaty's Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter. Hands down the most amazing rendition of that song I've ever heard.
The evening opened with the much anticipated World Heavyweight Championship match between Drew McIntyre and the champion Seth Rollins, featuring CM Punk at the commentary desk. No doubt in my mind these two would set the tone out of the gate with the, "follow that" attitude. Extravagant entrance by Rollins with what I believe to be a massive Philadelphia Street Band.
Hot start with McIntyre hitting an early Claymore, and Rollins hitting an early pedigree and curb-stomp. Lots of trolling by McIntyre towards both Rollins and Punk along the way. This match was like starting a WWE2K match with multiple stocked finishers. Rollins hits one more pedigree and one more curb-stomp. McIntyre still kicks out, looking like an absolute unstoppable Superstar. Future Shock by McIntyre, but Rollins kicks out. "This is Awesome" chants from the capacity crowd. Another Claymore kick, and STILL Rollins kicks out. Later on the outside a curb-stomp on the announce table, an then a Claymore kick back in the ring. Rollins kicks out, but a fourth Claymore Kick proved too much for Rollins.
AND NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Drew McIntyre. "You Deserve It" chants from the crowd, and rightfully so. As he walks up the ramp, Seth looks back at Drew with tears in his eyes, and says ,"You F-ing Deserve it Man" in a beautiful moment. Drew goes over to his wife and gets on one knee and holds the Championship in front of her. I absolutely love it. What a moment.
Without missing a beat, McIntyre goes up to troll punk on the announce table and holds the World Heavyweight Championship in front of his face. Punk trips McIntyre and takes off his arm brace and attacks Drew with it.
Seconds later Damien Priest runs to the ring, clocks Drew with the briefcase, and cashes in. A massive South of Heaven later, and Damien Priest is your NEW World Heavyweight Champion. Amazing way to start off the night.
The surprises kept coming with Snoop Dogg on commentary and a returning WWE HOFer Bubba Ray Dudley as a special guest referee for the Philly Street Fight between The Final Testament and The Pride. Fun match as Kross took exception to Bubba as the official so Bubba directed The Pride in playing the Dudley Boyz hits with Dudley glasses, diving headbutt, and of course, lots of tables. The only thing missing in my mind was D-VON. Well paced fun match ending with The Pride, Bubba, and Snoop hands held high.
Next up, it's LA Knight VS. AJ Styles. LA Knight rolled up to the arena in The Slim Jim Car which he gave to a lucky contest winner in the front row, while AJ Styles rolled out with a new entrance theme that fit his new darker persona. This match was literally exactly what I expected. Lots of back and forth and a few big risks. Lots of "YEAH"s and "YEAH" punches. LA KNIGHT with the BFT for the win.
The Triple Threat United States Championship match is next and Logan Paul makes his way to the ring in a prime truck, with a prime cannon, and a Prime bottle mascot who stands by the Prime Hydration Station. Nice call back as Sami Zayn meets Kevin Owens at guerilla and embraces him before Owens makes his way down the ramp. But wait. Owens gets the golf cart and drives it down the ramp. As Orton makes his way down the ramp, Owens backs up and gives Orton a ride to the ring in a fun moment. I can't express enough how much I love this new Randy Orton who is simply having a lot of fun out there night in and night out.
Early on ,Orton and Owens team up on Logan Paul. The beatdown on Paul continues until Orton attempts an RKO on Owens. They kind of have a moment and talk about it, until Owens essentially says, "You want to do it now?" And they just start to brawl in the middle of the ring until Paul capitalizes. "Gatorade" and "we want water" chants ensue which is amazing.
Tons of signature moves up next including, a double Orton rope DDT, a moonsault from Owens, an RKO which Owens somehow kicks out of, and a brass knuckles strike from Logan Paul. Somehow Orton kicks out. Orton hits an RKO on Paul for the win, but the Prime bottle mascot pulls the ref out of the ring. Outside the ring Orton hits an RKO on the Prime bottle mascot on the outside. Paul takes advantage and the action spills back into the ring. Owens hits a Stunner on Orton, and Orton kicks out.
"This is awesome!" chants ensue. Orton hits an epic RKO on Owens from a pop-up Power Bomb position which is an instant candidate for move of the night. Paul immediately throws Orton out of the ring and steals the pin to retain.
Up next, Bayley finally got her big WrestleMania match against WWE Women's Champion Iyo Sky in a great match that got a lot of time. Iyo worked the knee of Bayley who persevered and finally finished her story with DMG CTRL after a flying elbow drop ala Macho Man and Rose Plant Finisher to become the NEW WWE Women's Champion. Standing ovation for Bayley in Philadelphia.
The main event was unlike anything we've ever seen before in the WWE. Some things we expected. Some things we didn't. It felt like the final act of a play, but one we had been watching our entire lives. Veterans, Hall of Famers, and more came back to play their part in a match full of moments almost seemingly something you would see in a fantasy booking or video game.
With the help of John Cena, The Undertaker, Seth Rollins, Jey Uso and technically even The Rock who played a major part as a villain in this story, Cody Rhodes finally reached the mountain top. Rhodes ended Roman's historic run to become your new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. And might I say the title looks great on him. It just feels right.
Post-match a standing ovation from the capacity crowd, and the ring filled with the likes of Orton, Owens, Sami, Brandi, HHH, CM Punk, and more. Again it felt like the end of an almost three year Broadway play, because everyone got their flowers, including Triple H. More importantly, Mama Rhodes (Runnels) was presented the championship by her son in an amazing tear jerking moment.
What an ending to the story. A story that we all know doesn't end in the WWE. This was a massive career-altering night for Rhodes who has done more for the business than nearly anyone, outside of a very select few. But it also truly felt like a win for everyone in the WWE.
Wrestling has more than one Royal Family, but as we all witnessed tonight, family doesn't have to be blood.