Roman Reigns defended the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes in a 34-minute instant classic. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The biggest wrestling card of the year, WWE’s WrestleMania 39 ended Sunday night. The two-night affair featured all the typical bells and whistles for the “Immortals Showcase.” There were 15 matches – including two impromptu celebrity affairs – with two title changes and an ending that unexpectedly expands WWE’s biggest storyline yet as it heads into WrestleMania.
RAW post WrestleMania Live updates
Liv Morgan pins Dakota Kai to earn himself and Raquel Rodriguez a tag team title match against Lita and Becky Lynch next week.
Bobby Lashley crushed Mustafa Ali backstage after a brief exchange.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens defeat Street Profits in an open challenge for the newly crowned Unified Tag Team Champions.
Austin Theory pins Rey Mysterio Jr. after interference from Dominik Mysterio. Dominik and Damian Priest then approach Bad Bunny, who has been ringside and promoting his role in WWE Backlash in Puerto Rico next month.
Omos bounced back from his loss to Lesnar on Sunday by crushing Elias in under two minutes.
Cody Rhodes interrupts Reigns and requests a championship rematch tonight. After this is dismissed, he makes a tag team match challenge, which Reigns accepts on the condition that Cody’s partner is someone who wrestled over the weekend and that person can never challenge Reigns again. Brock Lesnar takes the call and the match is official.
Raw begins with Triple H coming to the ring to thank the talent, the behind-the-scenes staff and the fans before introducing Roman Reigns.
Most successful WrestleMania of all time
On Monday morning – shortly after it was announced that the company was merging with UFC owner Endeavor – WWE chief content officer and head of creative Triple H took to Twitter to announce that WrestleMania 39 had “smashed” multiple records. The reported figures included a live attendance worth $21.6 million with a total attendance of 161,8922, $21 million in sponsorship revenue and 500 million social views.
The story goes on
WrestleMania 39 results
Night 2 (Sunday)
Brock Lesnar pins Omos at 4:57
Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated Shotzi & Natalya, Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan, and Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green in 8:28
Gunther pins Drew McIntyre and defeats Sheamus in 17:38 to retain the Intercontinental Championship
Bianca Belair pins Asuka in 16:55 to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
Snoop Dogg pins The Miz at 2:06
Edge pins The Demon Finn Balor at 18:13 in a Hell in a Cell match
Roman Reigns pins Cody Rhodes in 34:34 to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
Night 1 (Saturday)
Austin Theory pinned John Cena in 11:24 to retain the WWE United States Championship
Street Profits defeated Viking Raiders, Alpha Academy and Braun Strowman & Ricochet in 8:29
Seth Rollins pinned Logan Paul at 16:15
Becky Lynch, Lita and Trish Stratus defeated Damage CTRL in 16:52
Rey Mysterio pinned Dominik Mysterio in 14:23
Rhea Ripley pinned Charlotte Flair in 25:15 to win the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship
Pat McAfee pinned The Miz at 3:40
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens defeated. The Usos win the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship in 24:15
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defeated The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship on Night 1 of WrestleMania 39. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
WrestleMania winners and losers
Winner: Women’s Wrestling — We’re about eight years away from the “women’s revolution” initiated in part by Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and Bayley. With three of the four riders in action this weekend, Lynch and Bayley battled it out in a six-woman tag team match between the division’s past (Lita, Trish Stratus) and future (Iyo Sky, Dakota Kai ) went.
We also saw two of the greatest women’s fights of all time when Charlotte Flair defended her Smackdown Women’s Title against Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair defended her Raw Women’s Title against Asuka. Ripley and Belair walked away victorious and both games are worth your time if you missed them.
Winners: Seth Rollins and Logan Paul — Seth Rollins may have won this match, but both he and Logan Paul raised the bar for a celebrity-style match at WrestleMania. The win likely puts Rollins closer to the top of the WWE map (where he arguably always should be) and builds on Paul’s reputation as a legitimately good and fun professional wrestler. Oh, and there was also a walking billboard for Paul’s Prime drink in the form of KSI in a mascot costume.
Winners: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens — The purpose of WrestleMania is essentially to serve as the Super Bowl, or season finale, of the WWE year. Night 1 created a WrestleMania moment that will be remembered for years, if not decades.
Zayn and Owens dethroning the Usos as tag team champions in the main event was significant for a number of reasons. It marked the first time the tag team championships had been defended in the main event of a WrestleMania, and it paid off in WWE’s best history in recent memory. The match was arguably the best of the entire event and prompted a massive crowd reaction when it finally ended.
Winner: Snoop Dogg – Snoop is no stranger to WWE and being a part of the events, but on Sunday, during Night 2, he was called to an emergency when Shane McMahon suffered a quadriceps tear during an impromptu match against Mike “The Miz” Mizanin. As McMahon went down, Snoop jumped in the ring and hit a few punches and a people’s elbow to set the pin. It was a moment that went sideways but was ultimately saved by quick thinking and acting.
Winner: George Kittle — Kittle, the San Francisco 49ers’ star tight end, isn’t shy about his wrestling fanbase. On Saturday night, he was able to step into the ring and join the action alongside former NFL player and media personality Pat McAfee in a match against The Miz. Crossover moments for victory!
Winner: Roman Reigns — In the biggest outlier of the entire event, Roman Reigns retained his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a thrilling Main Event. Reigns remains the pinnacle of WWE, and pretty much the entire industry, on a night that felt like Cody Rhodes was “ending history” and ushering in a new era. Rhodes-Reigns had everything you’d want from a Main Event, and due to the questionable ending – Solo Sikoa interfering when Rhodes was about to win – we’re going to continue this feud and a brand new take on The Bloodline since The Usos lost his own main event match on Saturday.
Loser: Judgment Day — Sure, Rhea Ripley won the SmackDown Women’s Championship, but she always seemed destined for bigger things than the faction. Dominik Mysterio and group leader Finn Bálor suffered pretty big losses in action-packed matches at WrestleMania. It looks like we’re heading towards a big tag team match at Backlash in Puerto Rico in May, but beyond that we’re not sure what the long-term plan is for this group.
Loser: Damage CTRL – The group of Bayley, Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai made a big comeback/debut at SummerSlam last year and while it makes sense that they lost on Saturday night, it’s hard to dismiss them as a major threat in the women’s division (singles or tag ) to watch. All three women are too talented to be held down long, but much like Judgment Day remains to be seen where this stable leads.
WrestleMania superlatives
The best game of night 1: Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
The Best Game of Night 2: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
Best WrestleMania Moment: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens win Unified Tag Team Championships
Best performance: Rhea Ripley
Best start: Bianca Belair
Viral Train: Chad Gable’s suplex by Braun Strowman
What’s next? ‘The TODAY Show’ and ‘Raw’ After ‘Mania
While the WrestleMania event may be over, the action continues into Monday when the big winners appear on The TODAY Show, and there’s another full night of wrestling with WWE’s weekly Monday Night Raw coming later airs on USA Network during the day.
Just as WrestleMania serves as the Super Bowl/season finale for WWE, the post-WrestleMania “raw” essentially starts the entire cycle over. It’s usually a night of new storylines, surprise returns, and a “hot” crowd that really adds to the atmosphere.
How to see:
The Today Show airs at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
“Monday Night Raw” airs at 8 p.m. ET USA Network
Previous updates from WrestleMania week
WWE 2023 Hall of Fame Inductees
Rey Mysterio introduced by Konnan
The Great Muta introduced by Ric Flair
Andy Kaufman introduced by Jerry “The King” Lawler introduced by Jimmy Hart
Stacy Keibler, introduced by Mick Foley and Torrie Wilson
Tim White* recorded by JBL and Ron Simmons
*Indicates the recipient of the Ultimate Warrior Award
‘Go-home’ SmackDown and Hall of Fame updates
Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns faced off one last time
Sheamus & Drew McIntyre defeated Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Von Kaiser
Raquel Rodriguez defeated Natalya, Shayna Baszler and Sonya Deville in a preview of the Women’s “Showcase” Fatal 4-Way Match
Bobby Lashley won the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royale, ultimately eliminating Bronson Reed
Ricochet defeated Erik, Chad Gable and Montez Ford in a preview of the men’s “Showcase” Fatal 4-Way Match
Monday night RAW updates “go home”.
Cody Rhodes maintained his unbeaten streak and ended Solo Sikoa’s in a final tuning match ahead of Sunday’s main event
Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville formed a tag team and qualified for the women’s Fatal 4-Way Showcase match by defeating Candice LeRae and Michin
Stacy Keibler has been announced as the fourth WWE Hall of Fame inductee for 2023, joining Rey Mysterio, The Great Muta and the late Andy Kaufmann
Omos weighed 410 pounds for his match against Brock Lesnar and then attacked Lesnar with the scales before the weigh-in could be completed