WWW.FORBES.COM
WWE WrestleMania 41 Day 1 Highlights And Reactions
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 7: Paul Heyman gets ready to address the audience during Monday Night ... More RAW at Target Center on April 7, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)WWE via Getty Images WrestleMania 41 kicked off from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday. I live blogged the entire show. The biggest story: Paul Heyman pulled the ultimate double-double cross turning on his client and friend to give Seth Rollins the win in the main event. It was a fantastic ending to the main event. Becky Lynch loved the ending. Take a look at every entrance, big moment and reaction from Day 1 of the grandest show on the professional wrestling calendar. WrestleMania 41 Night One Results and Celebrity Sightings As They HappenMIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 11: UFC CEO Dana White is seen on stage during the UFC 316 press conference ... More at Kaseya Center on April 11, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)Zuffa LLC Yes, that’s the correct image. The UFC CEO, Dana White, and WWE’s business buddy under the TKO umbrella handled the WrestleMania 41 foreword. That was a mild surprise. Jelly Roll handled the singing of "God Bless America" to open the festivities.SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - APRIL 05: Jelly Roll performs onstage for Coca Cola Live during the 2025 NCAA ... More March Madness Music Festival on April 05, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for 2025 NCAA March Madness Music Festival)Getty Images for 2025 NCAA March Madness Music Festival Triple H was introduced for the first time at a live event as a Hall of Famer, having been inducted on Friday. Predictably, he received a rousing reception from fans.Triple H (Photo by WWE/Getty Images)WWE via Getty Images World Heavyweight Championship Match: Jey Uso def. (c) Gunther – NEW CHAMPION Entrances The World Heavyweight Title match opens the show, but record producer Salvatore had a brief appearance to usher in Uso’s arrival. Jey’s entrance was supersized on a WrestleMania level. He entered through the massive crowd. Uso was far more subdued than normal, despite Las Vegas Raiders cheerleaders being on the scene and other massive levels of pageantry. Appropriately, Gunther entered with little pomp and circumstance, befitting his no-nonsense style. Celebrity Callouts There was also an acknowledgment of combat sports powerbroker Turki Alalshikh. Big Moments It took less than 30 minutes of the entire program for us to see not one, but two finishers landed with kick outs. We didn’t just see the finishers land with kick outs, Gunther also used a slight distraction to land a blow with the championship belt to Uso’s head. Jey kicked out of that too–after a splash from the top rope from the Ring General. Uso hits Gunther with a taste of his own medicine. Jey lands a power bomb on the champion that set up three Uso splashes and a rear-naked choke that led to a submission win. WOW! I thought Uso would win, but not by submission. That is unbelievable. Awesomely, Jimmy Uso joined his brother in the ring to Yeet and celebrate the win. Awesome moment for the Samoan dynasty. Def Jam and hip-hop icon Rick Rubin, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and famed illusionist Chris Angel were highlighted. World Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) def. (c) The War Raiders (Erik and Ivar) - NEW CHAMPIONS The tag-team title match is next and WWE is running a strong story-building vignette setting the scene for this match. This match has been arguably the least-built scrap on Saturday and Sunday. Entrances The New Day came to the ring in matching ring attire that looks like they are a part one of the new sub cultures introduced in Patch 8 of Baldur’s Gate. I mean that as a major compliment. In actuality, I believe it is a callout to Clash of Clans, which is a sponsor for this match. The logo and representation is all over the ring. Woods is rocking faux hawk with the sides braided, and it’s dope. The War Raiders have the vibe as well, though it’s not as loud. Some felt the New Day were paying homage to Giant Gonzalez. Celebrity Callouts Kittle got involved in a shouting match with the New Day before the match started. Jelly Roll got more screen time along with comedian Michael Che and actor Oshea Jackson Jr. Big Moments This move was crazy from Ivar. He did also come close to botching his signature moonsault. His foot appeared to slip, but he landed it without too much consequence. What’s with the quick wins tonight? Woods gets the pinfall victory thanks to Kofi assisting with leverage on Erik. This was the right call, but another oddly awkward ending. Jade Cargill def. Naomi Entrances Naomi’s new entrance has dumped the high-energy dance track and the neon light. It’s now all about metal music and caution tape. It’s a great look–especially for her new persona. Jade Cargill’s entrance had a local Las Vegas weatherman. Cargill emerged rocking her signature short hairstyle for premium live events and a gold trimmed attire that accentuates the storm concept. Both women have made a major statement with their entrance. Big Moments Cargill put on a power display in this one. Naomi was strong in support as she has been during the entire build, but this was about showing Cargill doing things no other woman in wrestling history has ever been able to do from a pure power standpoint. Cargill literally caught Naomi full dive and turned it into a jackhammer. Look at this: This finish was excellent too. Cargill and Naomi knocked it out of the park in this match. There was a Lil Yachty and Lilian Singh sighting in the crowd. United States Championship Match: Jacob Fatu def. LA Knight (c) – NEW CHAMPION Entrances Jacob Fatu began his ring walk with Solo Sikoa, but the latter didn’t walk the aisle with him. Fatu was wearing a werewolf mask, but he handed that to Solo. Sikoa took the mask and went backstage. LA Knight was chauffeured to the stage in a white Maserati. Big Moments This match has stolen the show, so far. Fatu and LA Knight put in work with a series of memorable spots. The crowd came alive for this one with chants for both men battling at the climax. The two sent the message early on that this one was going to be amazing. Knight gave up the title, but not before delivering these kinds of moments. He countered Fatu’s moonsault with a BFT. El Grande Americano def. Rey Fenix Fenix steps in for the legitimately injured Rey Mysterio. Entrances EGA came to the ring with traditional El Mariachi music, sepia tone and fully embracing his pseudo luchador persona. WWE and Fenix deserve credit for putting this entrance together on short notice. Celebrity Callouts White is there after all. The UFC CEO is shown in the audience. WWE has purchased the Mexican wrestling promotion, AAA and one of their stars, Vikingo got into the action a bit with EGA. Big Moments EGA aka Gable just pulled off a top-rope maneuver that I’ve ever seen before. Wow! A lot happened with EGA’s loaded mask, and all of it was amazing. Here’s the finish. You can tell this match was abbreviated due to the short-notice construction, but all things considered, it wasn’t horrible. On June 7, WWE-AAA will feature a live event Worlds Collide. Overall, I’d agree with Justin LaBar’s post. Shawn Michaels Announces the Attendance: 61,467 Celebrity Callouts Actor Stephen Amell and former UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya are shown. WWE Women’s Championship Match: (c) Tiffany Stratton (c) def. Charlotte Flair Entrances Stratton entered the match in a custom Barbie box, and that was an awesome touch. Charlotte entered in a Rolls Royce and was the first performer to have pyro in her entrance, for whatever that is worth. Big Moments Charlotte spent most of the early moments of the match battering Stratton with some pretty stiff shots. Charlotte even took time to lay the groundwork for what might be her next feud. Hello Stephanie Vaquer. Charlotte pulls out the powerbomb. Fans can say what they want about Charlotte, but she is proving why she is the greatest woman in wrestling history. She is doing a masterful job of telling a story in this match. She’s dropping expertly placed soundbites mid-action and in some ways carrying some of the more physical moments. This match has been really good. Stratton retains with a Prettiest Moonsault Ever. As I said, great match. Daddy Flair agrees. 2025 WWE Hall of Fame Recap Peacock shows the best moments from the Hall of Fame scenario. The entire class took the stage and got their due. Triple Threat Main Event: Seth Rollins def. Roman Reigns and CM Punk Entrances Seth Rollins just something here. He came out dressed in all black with a branded flamethrower. The lights went black and he then appeared in all white and illuminated. Roman’s entrance nearly brought a tear to my eye. It is reserved, and he was alone, but when you look at the large LED screens, they are displaying members of the Samoan dynasty. It was beautiful. Put the ones in the air. CM Punk’s vignette might have been the best in history. Three words: This Fire Burns! In Living Colour sang him to the ring, and that was amazing too. Big Moments There have been so many amazing moments. It’s hard to keep it all straight. I’m just going to list them until the finish. Heyman has turned on Reigns and Punk with low blows to both to set Rollins up for the win. Now, if you're already looking ahead to tomorrow, here’s what’s set for Night 2. WrestleMania 41 Night Two Card (7 p.m. ET on April 20 on Peacock) Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena WWE Women’s World Championship Triple Threat: Iyo Sky (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair Women’s Tag Team Championship: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria Intercontinental Championship Fatal Four-Way: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta vs. Finn Bálor Sin City Street Fight: Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul Randy Orton vs. ???
0 Kommentare 0 Anteile 64 Ansichten