Night 2 of WrestleMania featured seven matches, with the main event of the entire weekend taking place in Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Two of the biggest names in wrestling faced off in one of the most anticipated matches of the year, as Rhodes tried to remain the quarterback of WWE while Cena went for gold in final WrestleMania. The ending had some shock, and it will have major ramifications on WWE.
Three other championship matches took place, including the star-studded affair for the Women’s World Championship between Iyo Sky, Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley. There were some surprises as well, including the return of a decorated champion, a “Texas Rattlesnake” and the WrestleMania debut of a viral sensation.
Undisputed WWE Championship match: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena
The bell rang and the two competitors soaked in the energy for the main event. They tied up and Cena dotted out of the ring. They tied up once more and Cena again got out as he told Rhodes “get off me.” The third tie up was the charm for Cena as he put Rhodes in a headlock, but Rhodes reacted quickly and got on his feet to deliver a drop kick. Cena went out, but Rhodes met him outside with a dive and brought him back in.
Cena then went to work with consecutive stomps to Rhodes and a big boot to his face. The 16-time champion was in control, throwing Rhodes around. Cena went for a quick pin that was quickly kicked out by Rhodes, and the challenger seemed to be having fun punishing the champion, sitting on the top turnbuckle in between attacks. There were flashes of a young Cena with moves like a spinning DDT, with some vintage moves thrown in. As Rhodes laid on the ground, Cena raised his hand in the air. As he went for the five-knuckle shuffle, Rhodes jabbed him in the face to turn the tide.
Rhodes set up the bionic elbow, but suddenly Cena reversed it into an Attitude Adjustment. It hit and he went for the pin, butRhodes kicked out. Cena got up and then delivered a five-knuckle shuffle as the crowd yelled “you can’t see me.” Cena wanted another AA but Rhodes escaped. Cena didn’t let Rhodes get away much and met him at the top turnbuckle for a flying AA. Yet again, Rhodes kicked out of the pin.
Cena tried an aerial attack that was caught by Rhodes, and the champion leaped all the way off the top turnbuckle to deliver a Cody Cutter. Rhodes set up for the Cross Rhodes, and Cena met it with an AA. He hit it, and then got Rhodes in the STF lock in the middle of the ring. Rhodes was having trouble getting out of it but once he did, it resulted in the referee getting knocked. Rhodes hit Cena with a Cross Rhodes and the pin would’ve worked, only the referee was knocked out.
As Rhodes tried to get the referee up, Cena exposed one of the turnbuckles and Cena pushed Rhodes into it twice before hitting an AA. He went for the pin as the referee recovered, but Rhodes somehow kicked out.
Travis Scott’s “Fein” hit the stadium speakers and the rapper emerged from the stage. He came down and met Cena in the ring, and Rhodes saw an opening. He hit Cena with a Cody cutter and went for the pin, but Scott dragged the referee out. Rhodes and Scott went face-to-face and Scott tried to hit him, only for Rhodes to stop it and deliver a Cross Rhodes.
Rhodes turned his back and Cena was waiting to hit him with the title. Rhodes stopped it and threatened to hit him with the title, but while he hesitated, Cena delivered a low blow. Cena readied to hit Rhodes and it landed. Cena dragged the referee back in and the pin worked. Cena wins the WWE title.
The record belongs to Cena. In his final year of wrestling, Cena breaks the record for most WWE title wins at 17, and it’s another notch in a hall of fame career.
While it’s a major accomplishment, the match wasn’t the greatest, and frankly, didn’t live up to the moment. The majority of the match was actually decent, but when it comes to the main event, people eagerly await to see what will be the big finish. When Travis Scott emerged, it added a nice wrinkle, but everyone was expecting more, like a possible appearance from The Rock. Instead, it was just Scott, someone WWE fans didn’t really care to see
The pleading by Cena to not get hit by the title at the end didn’t feel right, but it was important because it showed Rhodes still had sympathy and didn’t see it as the right move to do. That was something Cena said he wasn’t going to consider anymore because all that mattered was to win. Cena proved his theory paid off, and that’s how solid story telling is done. It was the right decision to give Cena the championship, but how it happened wasn’t the prettiest.
Now, the WWE world awaits to see if Cena will be walking away from the ring with the championship still in his hands. Cena said when he would win the title, he would ruin wrestling and be the last real champion. Cena has captured it, and now the race begins to try and make sure Cena doesn’t leave with it.
