The road to WrestleMania XL is in the rear-view mirror, as we have finally arrived at our long-awaited destination!
WWE WrestleMania Sunday Results – April 7, 2024
WWE kicks off their two-night premium live event on “The Grandest Stage of Them All” this evening, as night one of WrestleMania XL kicks off at 5/4c from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
On tap for WrestleMania XL Night 1 is The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth “Freakin'” Rollins in the main event, GUNTHER vs. Sami Zayn for the WWE Intercontinental title, Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair & Naomi vs. Dakota Kai, Asuka & Kairi Sane of Damage CTRL, as well as “Main Event” Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso in a “Brother versus Brother” showdown.
Also scheduled is Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar, the Six-Pack Ladder Match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles with The Judgment Day vs. #DIY vs. The New Day vs. Awesome Truth vs. New Catch Republic vs. A-Town Down Under, as well as Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch for the WWE Women’s World title.
Featured below are complete WWE WrestleMania 40: Night 1 results from Saturday, April 6, 2024. The following report was written by PWMania.com reporter Matt Boone (@MattBoone0709) as the show aired live from 5-11pm EST.
WRESTLEMANIA XL: NIGHT 1 RESULTS (4/6/2024)
As always, the John Cena-narrated “WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together.” opening signature flashes on the screen to get things started. We then shoot to a live outside blimp shot of the massive Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA.
Michael Cole welcomes us to Countdown to WrestleMania Saturday and then we head into the elaborate cold open-style video package featuring Philadelphia hip-hop star Meek Mill talking about Philly and WrestleMania as clips promoting top matches scheduled for the show today are mixed in.
CM Punk, Big E., Pat McAfee & Michael Cole Welcome Us
After that wraps up, we shoot live inside the Pepsi Plaza at Lincoln Financial Field this time, as Michael Cole once again welcomes us to WrestleMania. The camera shot settles at the pre-show panel, where Cole introduces his fellow pre-show panelists, Pat McAfee, Big E. and CM Punk.
CM Punk stutters like crazy during his first line as he attempts to get to what was actually a clever line about how WrestleMania is in Philadelphia with Phil E., as he stands next to Big E. with his arm around him. The panelists then start talking about the night one tag-team main event with The Rock and Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth “Freakin'” Rollins.
Checking In With Jackie Redmond, Byron Saxton & Kayla Braxton
The pre-match video package for tonight’s night one tag-team main event airs now telling the complete story from start-to-finish for The Rock and Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth “Freakin'” Rollins. After that, we check in with Jackie Redmond, Byron Saxton and Kayla Braxton.
Redmond is outside of The Bloodline locker room. Saxton is outside of Cody Rhodes’ Nightmare Express tour bus. Braxton is outside of the locker room of Seth “Freakin'” Rollins. The pre-match package for Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch for the WWE Women’s World Championship airs. When it wraps up, we return to the pre-show panel.
Part 1 Of Megan Morant’s Sit-Down With Paul “Triple H” Levesque
The panelists weigh in with their thoughts on the title tilt between “Mami” and “The Man,” and then we head into a quick commercial break. When we return, we see an exclusive sit-down from earlier this week at WWE Headquarters with Megan Morant and Paul “Triple H” Levesque. The WWE Chief Content Officer talking about the significance of WrestleMania XL.
After the interview wraps up, we learn that part two will air during the Countdown to WrestleMania Sunday pre-show tomorrow evening. The teaser clip is Triple H talking about CM Punk’s return and having mixed emotions after having some interesting private conversations with him. We return to the panel where we hear fans chanting “CM Punk! CM Punk!”
Michael Cole talks about how he touted this The Triple H Era of WWE and asks Punk how things are different this time around compared to his previous run in the company. Punk has nice things to say. They all go on to give praise to Triple H for running things great in the new era behind-the-scenes under TKO Group.
We see live shots of “Main Event” Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso arriving separately earlier today. We then head into the elaborate road to Uso vs. Uso video package telling the story leading up to this brother versus brother showdown on night one of WrestleMania XL later this evening. When it wraps up, we head to the panelists who weigh in with their thoughts.
Punk, of course, brings up the Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart brother versus brother showdown from WrestleMania in the past to compare it to the Uso vs. Uso bout this year. We then shift gears and talk about the WWE Intercontinental Championship showdown between GUNTHER and Sami Zayn.
Jackie Redmond Interviews Sami Zayn
The video package for it airs and then Jackie Redmond talks live backstage with Zayn. Afterwards, we return to the panelists, who talk about how GUNTHER vs. Zayn is similar to another Philly classic, the Rocky Balboa movie franchise.
CM Punk has some fun, pretending not to have ever heard of the Rocky movies before, a callback to his posts on social media regarding Dave Meltzer and company saying his match with Jon Moxley in AEW when he dropped the title was supposed to be like Clubber Lang beating the crap out of Rocky Balboa in their first meeting. McAfee and Big E. think he’s claiming he’s never heard of the film franchise. Yikes.
Braun Strowman Appears With Peter Rosenberg
After this, we see some live shots of the various tag-teams involved in the Six Pack Challenge Ladder Match for the Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Championships. We also catch up with Peter Rosenberg, who is with Braun Strowman for a promotional spot for Wheatley American vodka, the official vodka of WrestleMania XL. Some footage from The Pat McAfee Show is shown.
Trish Stratus Backstage Interview
From there, we shoot backstage to a quick interview with WWE Hall of Fame legend Trish Stratus. She gives her thoughts on the Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch title tilt tonight and some of the other bouts, and is asked about a potential return, which she leaves the door open for.
Kayla Braxton Interviews JBL
Moments later, Kayla Braxton is joined backstage with another WWE Hall of Fame legend, JBL. He cuts a heel promo about how much of a dead beat dad Rey Mysterio is and how much of a bad ass former inmate Dominik Mysterio is. Tom Rinaldi is standing on the massive entrance ramp inside Lincoln Financial Field to introduce our next video package, which is a sincere story about a kid who deals with a tragedy that is a huge WWE fan.
Jackie Redmond, Wade Barrett Join CM Punk & Big E. At The Panel
Once this wraps up, we return live and see the kid and the NFL star standing near the ring being interviewed. We head to another commercial break. When we return, Jackie Redmond and Wade Barrett have filled in for Michael Cole and Pat McAfee, joining CM Punk and Big E. to talk about tonight’s show. The Judgment Day duo of Damian Priest and Finn Balor are interviewed live about their Six Pack Challenge Ladder Match title defense.
When we return from another commercial break, Byron Saxton is live on the entrance ramp with representatives of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Fly Forward, Yeah Philly and The Lighthouse organizations. WWE is rewarding all three of the organizations $50,000. You’ve never seen less excitement for $150,000 being spent in your life. Yuck. We move on to Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair and Naomi with some flashing ring attire backstage.
A Michael Cole video package airs narrated by Cole himself for the first closed circuit for WrestleMania 1 from Madison Square Garden. The package shows photos of Michael Cole with a goofy-ass mustache from his high school year book and his picture as part of a high school basketball team. Douche chill city, as you’d expect, but in a good way. The significance of the inaugural WrestleMania is the focus of the package.
Backstage With Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar
That wraps up and we return to the panelists, who joke around and then sends things backstage. Dominik Mysterio is shown with Santos Escobar talking trash about Rey Mysterio ahead of their tag-team match. We return to the panelists, who discuss the Rey-Dominik dynamic. Punk makes a joke about Dom-Dom and Escobar having bad haircuts and being examples of luchadors who need to be under a mask.
Footage is shown of The Rock being given The People’s Championship title belt by Lonnie Ali, the widow of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, at the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony from Friday night. The in-depth road to WrestleMania XL night one main event video package airs to tell the story leading up to tonight’s high stakes showdown with The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth “Freakin'” Rollins.
Jackie Redmond Sits Down With Cody Rhodes, Seth “Freakin'” Rollins
Once that is done, we head to an exclusive sit-down interview that Jackie Redmond had with Cody Rhodes and Seth “Freakin'” Rollins coming into WrestleMania XL Weekend. She talks to them about being friends, allies and tag-team partners at WrestleMania and asks how odd that is considering the state of their relationship just a couple of years ago. The talk moves on to the vicious assault Rock gave Cody in Chicago and again in Brooklyn.
Back live to the panelists, where for about the 100th time throughout this Countdown to WrestleMania Saturday pre-show we hear a loud “CM Punk! CM Punk!” chant from the crowd behind the pre-show panel. Punk, Big E., Wade Barrett and Jackie Redmond weigh-in with their thoughts on the tag-team main event scheduled to end the evening here at night one of this year’s two-night premium live event on “The Grandest Stae of Them All.”
A split-screen shot is shown of Corey Graves making the long walk from the top of the WrestleMania XL entrance stage to the commentary desk at ringside. We then see the same for his co-commentators for tonight, Michael Cole and Pat McAfee as the panelists wrap up the pre-show. Punk takes a jab at Vince McMahon days by saying how free he feels without someone barking in his ear the entire time he’s talking.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque Welcomes Us To New Era Of WWE
The Countdown to WrestleMania XL pre-show for night one wraps up as Paul “Triple H” Levesque is shown in a split-screen shot walking around Lincoln Financial Field. The pre-show ends and then we see a brand new “WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together.” opening signature narrated by Paul “Triple H” Levesque. Michael Cole welcomes us inside Lincoln Financial Field and then we head into the cold open video package hosted by Philly hip-hop star Meek Mill.
Once that ends, we return live inside the venue again as Cole welcomes us to the show again. We see a live shot of Rhea Ripley with face-paint on stretching backstage as the crowd in the background roars loudly. Cole talks about the weather conditions in Philly for tonight’s show as Becky Lynch, also wearing some face-paint or heavy make-up that looks as such, is shown backstage.
Back in the stadium, Coco Jones is introduced. She sings the national anthem live inside the ring to get the show officially off-and-running. The theme for Triple H hits. Out comes WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque to the ring to kick off the show. He says “Welcome to a new time, a new era, welcome to WrestleMania!” His theme hits again and off he goes.
WWE Women’s World Championship
Rhea Ripley (C) vs. Becky Lynch
Cole talks to Pat McAfee and Corey Graves at the commentary desk at ringside to set the stage for our first match of the evening. An entrance that shows excerpts from Becky Lynch’s new book, “Becky Lynch: The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl” is shown, with paragraphs highlighted that we hear her reading as clips are mixed in of her WWE career. This transitions to her regular theme and out she comes with the aforementioned war-paint or make-up and a fluffy, fancy robe on.
She looks 100-percent all-business as she heads to the ring clearly on a mission to kick things off on a big note in our first match of the evening. The crowd shows her a ton of love coming out. As she settles in the ring, Cole introduces the Spanish commentary team for tonight’s show. They have their brief on-camera introduction and then we shift to the top of the stage where we see the band Motionless in White perform the theme song for Rhea Ripley live.
The crowd roars as they continue to play and then after a slight delay, out comes The Judgment Day’s own “Mami,” the reigning-and-defending WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley, who dances a bit alongside the lead singer of the band playing her theme live. As Ripley makes her way to the ring, the lead singer tells the crowd to make some noise for the demon of our dreams, Rhea Ripley. She poses with her title belt on the ring apron for another sustained roar from the Philly crowd.
It’s time for our first match of the evening with a world championship on-the-line here at night one of WrestleMania XL. The bell sounds, Samantha Irvin handles the final formal pre-match ring introduction for the champion and the challenger. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. Cole mentions that Lynch has been sick all week with strep throat and a tempature as high as 102. McAfee added that Ripley was working through a wrist injury.
Early on, Ripley performed an early Northern Lights suplex into a bridge for a two count. Ripley went for a vertical suplex, but Lynch countered into an inside cradle for a one count. Ripley powered up Lynch and executed the suplex and then got a two count. Ripley went to the ropes and did the Eddie Guerrero shimmy. Lynch ran up the ropes and pulled Ripley down with an arm drag. Lynch executed a tornado DDT for a two count. Lynch draped Ripley over the middle rope and then hit her with a second rope leg drop.
Lynch performed an exploder suplex that sent Ripley into the barricade. Back inside the ring, Lynch executed a top rope leg drop on the back of Ripley’s neck and got another two count. Lynch went to the middle rope and dove at Ripley, who caught her and slammed her to the mat. Lynch tried to get up and was blasted by a knee strike that led to a near fall. Lynch caught Ripley in a crossarm breaker. Ripley powered up Lynch and slammed her to the mat twice, but Lynch maintained the hold.
Ripley powered her up again and used a sit-out powerbomb to break the hold and picked up a near fall in the process. Cole acknowledged the chilly conditions again. We see the action spill out to the floor where we see a big electric chair spot and another Dis-Arm-Her from Lynch. Back in the ring, Ripley hits another big Rip-Tide and taunts Lynch as she struggles to get up in the corner of the ring. Ripley heads to the top-rope and looks to bring Lynch up with her in the suplex position.
Lynch fights back and hooks Ripley for a Man-Handle Slam, but Ripley avoids it and ends up hitting a Rip-Tide Buckle Bomb and then another Rip-Tide in the middle of the ring for the pin fall victory. With the win, Rhea Ripley retains her WWE Women’s World Championship. Excellent opening match to set the tone for night one of WrestleMania XL. The right person won if you gauge the reaction from the crowd throughout the match and to the finish in particular.
Winner and STILL WWE Women’s World Champion: Rhea Ripley
Undisputed WWE Tag-Team Championship Six-Pack Challenge Ladder Match
The Judgment Day (C) vs. #DIY vs. The New Day vs. Awesome Truth vs. A-Town Down Under
After the the Ripley-Lynch bout wraps up, we head into a quick commercial break. When we return, Michael Cole sets the stage for our second match of the evening, which will once again feature a world championship on-the-line, as the Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Championship Six-Pack Challenge Ladder Match is up next. The pre-match video package airs now to tell the story leading up to this one and then we return live inside Lincoln Financial Field for the ring entrances of the champions and challengers.
The theme for the #DIY duo of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa hits. Out they come for a quick entrance. Next, we hear R-Truth rapping as he and The Miz are out next as Awesome Truth. From their entrance to the next entrance of New Catch Republic there is a big production error, which the commentators react to on the broadcast. The theme for The New Day hits and out comes Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.
We hear the music for Austin Theory and Grayson Waller next and out comes the A-Town Down Under duo. They settle in the ring and the theme for the reigning and defending Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions hits. Out comes Damian Priest and Finn Balor with some weird ass masks on for their entrance gear. Samantha Irvin handles the final formal pre-match ring introductions for the champions and the challengers. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one.
Immediately we see all members of both teams slugging it out in a giant ball of mass in the middle of the ring as the crowd roars. They splinter off into pairs and on the floor, we see a bunch of teams try and work together on “Senor Money In The Bank.” We see a big ladder spot early on for a big pop. R-Truth is standing on the apron and thinks this is a tag-team match where you have to tag in. He gets the tag, even though it was unnecessary, and he hits the ring off the “hot tag” to do John Cena’s big comeback sequence, including the Five Knuckle Shuffle with the “You Can’t See Me” routine.
He makes the cover and counts his own pin and jumps up to celebrate until The Miz tells him what is going on. We see #DIY “tuning up the band,” as Gargano hits a super kick and then Ciampa hits a Pedigree. They talk with Awesome Truth, and they decide to each grab a ladder and try and each grab a set of the tag titles, so that they both win belts. They get stopped by Theory and Waller, who head up the ladder and pull down the SmackDown Tag-Team Championships. The Raw Tag-Team Championships are still in the mix apparently.
Winners and NEW SmackDown Tag-Team Champions: A-Town Down Under
New Catch Republic power bomb Waller over the top-rope and through a ladder bridge that was draped off the ring apron. It breaks in half and Waller slumps in what is left of it in pain as fans loudly chant “Holy sh*t! Holy sh*t!” Fans chant “We Want Tables!” and we see them get what they want as #DIY reaches under the ring and pulls out some tables, which they set up on the floor. Another ladder bridge is set up from the middle rope to the middle of a ladder set up in the center of the ring. The ladder bridge leads out to the aforementioned table set up on the floor.
Xavier Woods hits a big top-rope flying elbow smash onto someone laid out across the ladder bridge, which doesn’t break. Woods and Kingston climb up opposing sides of the ladder in the middle of the ring. Kingstop back-splashes off the ladder onto a pile of bodies on the floor. Woods continues to climb until Theory stops him and brings him down. New Catch Republic take Theory off the top of the ladder with a double-team Birming-Hammer. Bate begins to climb on one side while Ciampa climbs up the other. Gargano and Dunne go through the table on the floor.
Ciampa from way on the top of the ladder hits a crazy spot on Bate to the mat way down below. R-Truth hits the empty ring and sets the ladder up under the remaining tag titles as the crowd goes absolutely nuts. He begins to climb until JD McDonagh of The Judgment Day runs down to stop him. McDonagh helps Balor back into the ring and up the ladder. Woods climbs up behind Balor and stops him. Kingston grabs a steel chair and whacks him while McDonagh stays atop the ladder. Woods and Kingston spot him and they tip the ladder over to knock him off and through a table on the floor.
Priest hits the ring and takes out Woods and then brings Kofi off the ladder with a Razor’s Edge onto a steel chair. Priest climbed the ladder and smiled at the booing crowd before reaching up for the belts. The Miz rushed up the other side of the ladder to cut off Priest. Miz got his hand on one of the belts. Priest went for a South of Heaven chokeslam off the ladder that they didn’t follow through with. Cole said it was a smart move because the ladder was buckling. Priest set up another ladder and got his hand on one of the belts, but Truth tipped over the ladder. Truth hits an AA on Priest and pulls down the titles. Awesome Truth are the Raw Tag-Team Champions.
Winners and NEW Raw Tag-Team Champions: Awesome Truth
Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar
The former Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson is shown in a brief cameo appearance after a post-match commercial break following the Six Pack Challenge Ladder Match. We then head into the pre-match package for our next bout of the evening, which features Rey Mysterio and Andrade joining forces to take on the duo of Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar. Once it wraps up, we return back live inside Lincoln Financial Field. The theme for Santos Escobar hits and out he comes accompanied by his tag-team partner, Dom-Dom, and the rest of Legado Del Fantasma.
They all head down to the ring together to a ton of boos from the Philly crowd. Elektra Lopez is holding the mask of WWE Hall of Fame legend Rey Mysterio and showing it off for added heat. The theme for Rey Mysterio hits next and the crowd roars as the masked icon emerges at the top of the long entrance ramp accompanied by his tag-team partner, Andrade, and the rest of the LWO. After Samantha Irvin finishes up her official ring introductions for both teams, the bell sounds to get this one officially off-and-running.
Full match write-up coming momentarily. In the end, Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles team in the NFL hit the ring in masks to help take out Dominik Mysterio, leading to Mysterio and Andrade hitting their respective finishes for the pin fall victory. After the match, the two NFL stars un-mask for a big pop from the local Philly crowd as they celebrate Rey and Andrade’s win with them and the LWO. After this, we head to another quick commercial break.
Winners: Rey Mysterio & Andrade
Usos Civil War
“Main Event” Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
The third-ever Brother versus Brother match is up next. We return inside Lincoln Financial Field where Michael Cole, Pat McAfee and Corey Graves are shown at the commentary desk as the official match graphic for “Main Event” Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso flashes on the screen. Cole sends us into the elaborate, in-depth pre-match video package to tell the story leading up to tonight’s “Usos Civil War” brother versus brother showdown.
After this wraps up, we return inside Lincoln Financial Field where hip-hop legend Lil Wayne is shown. He begins doing the rap for his song “A Billie” which eventually transitions into the regular theme song for “Main Event” Jey Uso. Out he comes super hyped up, with he and Lil Wayne bouncing up-and-down together as the Philly crowd goes wild. As they head to the ring, Lil Wayne starts doing little freestyle ad-libs over Uso’s regular theme.
“Main Event” Jey Uso settles inside the squared circle and leads the sea of tens-of-thousands of members of the WWE Universe in attendance in a “YEET!”-tastic wave, which of course, Pat McAfee helps lead on the commentary desk at ringside. After his “YEET!”-rific entrance wraps up, his music dies down and then we hear the entrance tune for his big twin brother, The Bloodline’s own Jimmy Uso. Out he comes for our next match, where he is splashed on by Jey who flies over the top as he nears the ringside area.
Jey continues to bounce Jimmy’s head off of the ringside barricade before eventually rolling him into the ring. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one, without any in-ring formal ring introductions by Samantha Irvin due to the hot start. Jimmy rolls to the floor to re-group, but Jey hits the ropes and flies over the top for another big splash onto his bro on the floor at ringside. Back in the ring, Jey comes off the top-rope yet again for a high cross-body splash into a close two count.
After some more intense back-and-forth action we see Jey start to settle into a comfortable offensive lead. He looks closer and closer to finishing Jimmy off with every super kick he connects with. Jimmy, from his knees, begs off and tells Jey he’s wrong and he’s sorry. Jey helps him up and they hug, but then Jimmy quickly turns on him, blasting him with a super kick and hitting a top-rope Uso splash for a close pin attempt. Jey takes back over, decks Jimmy and hits a top-rope splash of his own for the win.
Winner: “Main Event” Jey Uso
Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair & Naomi vs. Dakota Kai, Asuka & Kairi Sane
After a post-match commercial break following the conclusion of the Usos Civil War brother versus brother showdown, the pre-match video package for our scheduled six-woman tag-team bout airs to get us ready for our next match of the evening. Back inside Lincoln Financial Field, we hear Michael Cole complaining once again on commentary about how cold it is in the venue for the show throughout the broadcast, and how it’s getting colder and colder as the night goes on.
Damage CTRL’s theme hits and out comes a bunch of Japanese fan-waving girls before eventually the trio of Dakota Kai and the Undisputed WWE Women’s World Tag-Team Champions Asuka and Kairi Sane head to the ring. As they settle inside, the camera shot shows Michael Cole and Corey Graves in big winter coats and beanie hats on, with Pat McAfee still styling and profiling next to them, talking about how they look ridiculous.
Back on the top of the entrance ramp. we see the lights go down and a bright spotlight hits a raised podium, which is slowly lowered down to the level of the entrance ramp. Off walks Jade Cargill first. Her theme hits and she poses briefly before the music transitions to Naomi’s tune. Out she comes and then the music shifgts to Bianca Belair’s song. Out she comes swinging her massive ponytail with some cool shades on. The three-woman team head to the ring together to a big pop from the Philly crowd.
Ironically enough we see Asuka getting down and dancing away as she and Kairi Sane and Dakota Kai are waiting at ringside for this one to get underway. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. Asuka and Naomi kick things off for their respective teams. After some back-and-forth action, which sees Belair and Naomi working the entire match, we work our way to the finish, which sees Jade Cargill finally tagged in for the first time.
After getting the hot tag, Jade Cargill proceeds to get the spotlight for a brief offensive showcase, where she hits some power spots on Asuka and Kairi Sane. The two try and double-team her after breaking up a pin attempt, but Belair hits the scene to help out. Asuka goes to spray the mist, but sprays into Sane’s eyes by accident. Belair hits a K.O.D. and then Cargill follows up with her Jaded finisher for the pin fall victory for her team.
Winners: Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair & Naomi
WWE Intercontinental Championship
GUNTHER (C) vs. Sami Zayn
It’s time for the real-life Rocky Balboa movie come-to-life rivalry, as GUNTHER vs. Sami Zayn for the WWE Intercontinental Championship is up next. Cole, McAfee and Graves set the stage for our next bout, which features the longest-reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion of all-time, by a large amount, defending against the fan-favorite underdog who has had special training from one of GUNTHER’s most notable past rivals in Chad Gable.
After a quick commercial time out, we head into the pre-match video package that tells the full story leading up to tonight’s showdown between “The Ring General” and Imperium leader and the Montreal native with his sights set on gold. When the package wraps up, we return live backstage where Sami Zayn is warming up when his wife and son walk up to wish him luck. He gives them his love and says he needs to get focused and doesn’t want GUNTHER seeing this.
Off the family goes. Zayn walks towards the entrance where he is stopped by Chad Gable. Gable asks him if he’s ready. Zayn says he is. Gable tells him he wants him to go do this one on his own. Zayn asks if he’s serious after all the help he doesn’t want to come out with him? Gable says he’s got this. He said he always has. He tells him after this you’ll owe me a favor. Another line directly out of the Rocky movie franchise.
Their talk wraps up and Zayn starts walking with a purpose, looking ready to capitalize on this moment. As he continues walking towards Gorilla position, he stops when he sees Kevin Owens. Owens smiles and pushes Zayn. He hugs him and off Zayn goes as his theme hits. He makes the long walk down to the ring to a huge sustained roar from the Philadelphia crowd. His music dies down and he awaits the arrival of the champ.
Imperium’s theme hits and out comes “The Ring General” himself, GUNTHER. The longest reigning I-C champ in WWE history comes out accompanied by Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci. He heads to the ring by himself and he stares down Zayn. He poses with his title before handing it off to the match official. The ref holds it up high to show these two what they are fighting for here tonight on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.”
The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. We see Zayn start off strong, with his wife shown in the front row cheering him on. He and GUNTHER trade chops in the first few minutes, with both of their chests ending up beat red. GUNTHER starts to take over and begins a prolonged beat down of Zayn in front of his wife, stopping to taunt her throughout. He proceeds to power bomb Zayn over and over again, emphatically, right in front of his wife.
It gets to the point where the commentators are pleading with the referee to stop the match whether Zayn insists he can continue or not. Whether GUNTHER chooses to finish him or continuing punishing him or not. Eventually we see Zayn flopping like a fish out of water in the background as he is starting to find his second wind. He fires up for an incredibly hot comeback, with the crowd loudly behind him, and the commentators as well.
Cole is shouting, “Do you believe in miracles” in reference to the old hockey Olympic call as Zayn gets closer and closer to ending this one. He eventually hits a big Helluva Kick in the corner that flattens “The Ring General.” He covers him and gets the one, gets the two and gets the three to end the longest-reigning WWE Intercontinental Championship reign in company-history.
He heads out to celebrate with his wife, his own “Adrian, I did it!” moment, as he poses with his newly won WWE Intercontinental Championship in his special “WrestleMania Moment” here in Philadelphia. After the match wraps up, we settle into another quick commercial break before we get ready for our tag-team main event of the evening here at night one of WrestleMania XL.
Winner and NEW WWE Intercontinental Champion: Sami Zayn
The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth “Freakin'” Rollins
It’s main event time!
We return from the commercial break that followed the I-C title tilt in our co-main event of the evening here at WrestleMania Saturday in Philadelphia. Back live inside Lincoln Financial Field, it’s time for the annual WrestleMania attendance announcement. Raw G.M. Adam Pearce and SmackDown G.M. Nick Aldis appear in the ring to make the announcement, calling this the biggest WrestleMania of all-time.
They announce 72,543 fans are packed inside Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. for night one of WrestleMania XL. Fireworks and pyro erupt at the top of the stage following the very brief in-ring announcement segment. George Kittle, Vanessa Hudgens, Wale, 2 Chainz, Druski, Michael Rubin and other celebrities were shown on-camera.
Michael Cole, Pat McAfee and Corey Graves run down the scheduled lineup for night two of this year’s two-night premium live event on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.” As they run down each match scheduled for WrestleMania Sunday tomorrow night, the official match graphics flash across the screen.
Now we see the lengthy, elaborate pre-match video package to tell the story leading up to our high stakes tag-team main event of night one of WrestleMania XL, with The Rock and WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns joining forces to take on the duo of The Rock and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin'” Rollins.
The package wraps up and out comes Cody Rhodes. The fans pop huge for “The American Nightmare” as he emerges and heads to the ring with intentions on starting the process of “finishing his story” — for real this time — at WrestleMania XL. He settles in the ring and his music dies down. The entrance tune for his partner begins next.
Out comes the WWE World Heavyweight Champion in an insanely puffy and fancy robe that is typical Seth Rollins-type stuff you would expect. “The Visionary” and “The Revolutionary” heads to the ring as the jam-packed crowd in Philly sing along with his music. He joins Rhodes in the ring and the two await the arrival of their Bloodline opposition.
In an insanely elaborate ring entrance that sees fire, a giant Brahma Bull lit up on the stage and special music shifts, out comes The Rock. “The Final Boss” emerges with The People’s Championship belt given to him by Lonnie Ali, the widow of the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali, at the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
The Rock settles in the ring by himself, standing across from both Cody Rhodes and Seth “Freakin'” Rollins. The lights go down and the familiar sounds of the entrance music for my tribal chief, your tribal chief and our tribal chief, “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns. The WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion emerges accompanied by “The Wise Man” of The Bloodline, Paul Heyman.
The two head to the ring together as Reigns’ catchy-ass entrance tune continues to play. Reigns takes his time down the long entrance ramp. He gets some final quick words from “The Wise Man” before ascending up the ring steps to join his cousin, The Rock, in the ring, for our night one main event of the evening here at WrestleMania Sunday in Philadelphia.
After the final pre-match ring introductions by Samantha Irvin, the bell sounds to get this one officially off-and-running. Kicking things off for their respective teams are Roman Reigns and Seth “Freakin'” Rollins. The former fellow members of The Shield mix it up early on and then Cody tags in for a big pop from the crowd. He and Reigns lock up as Cole calls this a preview of tomorrow night’s main event.
They don’t do much and then Rollins tags back in. The Rock locks eyes with Rollins and asks Reigns for the tag. The Rock milks the crowd and then gets the tag he requested. Rollins has a big ass smile on his face as he’s about to mix it up with a WWE legend on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.” Rock rag-dolls Rollins and then turns to Cody on the apron and does the “Just bring it!” gesture.
Cody tags back in. He and Rock milk the moment with a lengthy glare in the middle of the ring. A loud “Rocky! Rocky!” chant breaks out as the two lock up and begin to get after it. Cody goes to work on Rock in the corner of the ring. He yells out, “Make me bleed?!” while pummeling “The Final Boss” with kicks and punches in the corner. He tags Rollins in.
Seth and Cody unload with punches and kicks in rapid-fire fashion at the same time until Rock slumps down in the corner. The two hit a big double-team spot on Rock and then Reigns as well. The referee tries to restore order as all four men are in the ring together staring each other down. He fails as all four start a wild exchange in the middle of the ring.
Rock and Seth head out to one section of the ringside area to duke it out while Cody and Roman are shown battling on the opposite side of the floor on the entrance ramp. Rock yells to Chad Patton in the ring, the referee for the match, “If you count, you’re fired. I don’t f*ck around!” The commentators point out what The Rock said on commentary and mention his position as a TKO Group board member.
We see Rock and Seth begin fighting through the crowd as the referee grants his wishes and isn’t counting. Cody and Roman are shown mixing it up at the top of the entrance ramp. Reigns hits a big suplex to Cody on the stage. The camera pans over to Rock, who is beating down Rollins. He stops and drinks some water and spits it at Rollins.
The commentators talk about how cold it is and how much that probably sucked. Rollins fights back and gets on top of the ringside barricade. He leaps off and connects on Rock with a double axe-handle smash. As Rollins is taking Rock back into the ring, Reigns pulls Rollins off the apron and Rollins seems to hurt his knee upon landing. The commentators point out it’s the recently injured knee of Rollins.
The Rock goes to work on the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, focusing on his injured knee. He wraps it around the steel ring post and slams it into the steel ring steps as Rollins screams out in pain. Rock tags in Reigns, who picks up where “The Final Boss” left off, working over Rollins with ease as Cody is forced to watch on helpless from the ring apron.
After some more back-and-forth action, we see Cody get the hot tag and fire up. He (sort of) hits a Cody Cutter. Moments later, he blasts Reigns with a shot that busts his nose open. Reigns sees his blood and freaks out. He goes for a spear, but Cody avoids it. Cody leaps to the top-rope and (sort of) connects with Super Cody Cutter.
Rollins hits a Stomp and Cody follows up with a Cross-Rhodes. He goes for the cover but The Rock yanks the referee out of the ring just as he was about to count to three. Reigns and Rock fire up on offense again and hit some double-team spots. Reigns slaps as guillotine on Cody who begins to fade. Cody hangs in there but then Rock helps Reigns out. Cody is down and stuck in the choke again as Rock holds his legs down from the floor.
Rollins hits the ring just in time to connect with a Stomp that frees Cody. The Rock looks over and sees Cody’s mother, Mama Rhodes, in the front row with her husband, Cody’s step-father that he stopped and gave his weight belt to during his ring entrance. Rock grabs the weight belt and smacks it in his hand while taunting Mama Rhodes. Back in the ring, Cody hits Rock and takes the belt and now he has it.
Cody fires up and does the Dusty punch spot into the rolling-hands for a big bionic elbow. After Rock goes down from that, he pops up and hits a spinebuster on Cody out of nowhere. The crowd springs to their feet, clearly knowing what’s next. He stands above Cody and takes his elbow pad off. He does the double direction wave and hits the ropes for a People’s Elbow.
Instead, Rock comes off the ropes as Cody pops up and leaps off the ropes with a perfectly-timed Cody Cutter. Cody yells at Rock to get up. “You wanna make me bleed? Get up!” He turns around into a Superman Punch from Reigns that silences the crowd instantly. Reigns stalks Cody in the corner waiting for him to get up. He goes for a Spear when he does, but Seth moves Cody in one swift motion and Reigns accidentally hits The Rock with a huge Spear.
Rollins hits a Pedigree while Cody hits a Pedigree as well. They go for the cover but still somehow The Bloodline duo hangs in there and kicks out after the count of two to keep this one alive. Reigns and Rock roll out to the floor. Rollins and Cody hype each other up and go after them. Rollins hits a top-rope splash to Reigns on the floor. Rock tears apart the Spanish commentary desk and spits on Cody before bouncing his head off the desk.
The Rock hoists Cody up and yells at Mama Rhodes to look at her son. He slams him on the cleared off Spanish commentary desk, which is next to the cleared off U.S. commentary desk as well. Rock stands on the desk and picks Cody up for a Rock Bottom. Rollins grabs Rock’s leg to stop him. Cody hits a Rock Bottom on Rock from the Spanish desk through the U.S. desk. Immediately after that Reigns sprints over and Spears Rollins through the barricade.
Back in the ring, Reigns goes to work on Cody, beating him down some more. Rock whips Cody with the weight belt and then Reigns hits another Spear on “The American Nightmare.” Rock looks at Reigns and reaches out for the tag. Reigns obliges. Rock comes in as the legal man and stands over a beaten down Cody. He crouches down into position, stalking Cody and setting him up for a Rock Bottom. Cody gets up and Rock hits a Rock Bottom.
For the second time in the bout, we see The Rock creep over atop Cody and he is going to go for The People’s Elbow. He does a throat slice gesture and throws his 1’s to the sky. He does the double direction-wave, hits both sides of the ring ropes and connects with a People’s Elbow in the middle of the ring. He immediately follows that up with the cover and the pin for the win.
With the victory, Rock and Reigns have secured Bloodline Rules for Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes II for the WWE Universal Heavyweight Championship in the main event of night two of WrestleMania XL. The Rock and Roman Reigns celebrate their victory with Paul Heyman half way up the entrance ramp as Seth Rollins is shown looking upset on the floor and Cody is shown sitting in the ring looking completely dejected and in a state of disbelief. Michael Cole wraps up night one of WrestleMania XL on that note. After a lengthy video recap of the entire show from start-to-finish, night one of WrestleMania XL goes off the air. Thanks for joining us!
Winners: The Rock & Roman Reigns
WWE WrestleMania Sunday Results – April 7, 2024
