wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s WWE WrestleMania 41 Night 2 Review
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...WWE WrestleMania 41 Night Two
April 20th, 2025 | Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada
Unlike night one, I’m writing this review as I watch the show live. Maybe that’s better, maybe that’s worse. Who knows?
Women’s World Championship: IYO SKY [c] vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley
I came into this REALLY pulling for IYO. Bianca had a special entrance involving her stepdaughter and a bunch of women playing double dutch. The build for this wasn’t good but it’s the three best in the company so I was all in. The challengers tried to push IYO aside again but she stopped them and got off to a hot start. Everyone got their moment to shine, like a Rhea somersault to the outside, IYO getting a huge pop on an Asai moonsault, and a ridiculous suplex sequence by Bianca. Just tremendous action with the momentum swinging in dramatic fashion often. They did a big Tower of Doom style back suplex spot where IYO took a massive bump. IYO also got another huge pop after a great spot and her “point to herself” taunt only for Bianca to run her over with a Pounce. IYO’s selling throughout should be praised because it was some of the best I’ve seen. The avalanche Riptide counter into the moonsault block to the KOD was one of the greatest sequences I’ve ever seen. In a sick finish, Rhea blocked a poison rana up top and dropped IYO’s head on the ring post, then Rhea and Bianca had a sick exchange that saw Bianca do a hair whip and KOD, only for IYO to break it up with a moonsault and get the three count. 14:27 of absolute perfection. That was one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen. [*****]
Sin City Street Fight: Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
These poor guys having to follow that. The video package before it was actually fantastic and deserves a shoutout. The entrances for this took like 25 minutes. They brawled from the start, bringing the steel stairs and a table into play in the first couple of minutes. Drew was on his game, dishing out vicious offense and throwing his body into some really big spots that you might not expect from a midcard match like this. Tying Priest’s braid into a chair for a Claymore attempt, only for Priest to catch him with a chokeslam, made for a hell of a sequence. Drew even took a selfie while on offense, which became a viral hit in mere minutes on Twitter. He also got hit with a Razor’s Edge through a table for a near fall and nearly won with Future Shock on the steel steps. Drew shoved Damian off the top and through two tables outside in a big bump and then beat him with a chair assisted Claymore in 13:26. That was way better than I expected. Drew looked to be on a mission to deliver and Priest gave a strong performance too. Brutal, fun street fight. [***¾]
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Bron Breakker [c] vs. Finn Bálor vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta
Very excited for this one. Judgment Day worked together early but both Penta and Bron are good enough to weather that storm and get their shit in. Bron did a ridiculous leaping shoulder block that looked incredible. Bron also German suplexed Penta as he hit Finn with a suplex of his own. I swear, Bron Breakker isn’t human. In a lot of ways, this was the Bron Breakker show because he was dominant and killed in every incredible spot he had. The crowd wanted Dom at some points, getting mad at Finn for interrupting a hot run he had going. Carlito got involved at ringside, opening the door for a Dom rollup near fall and then saved Dom from losing to Penta. That was there to set up Bron Spearing Carlito through the announce table. Bron hit Penta with a Spear only for Dom to hit him with the 619. The crowd wanted Dom to do it but Finn crotched him up top. Finn hit the Coup de Grace and then Dom came off the top to hit both with a Frog Splash, winning the title in 10:30. Fantastic, super fun match with tons of action and everyone looking good. And the right winner. My only gripe is that they used that finish two matches ago. [****¼]
It was time for the Randy Orton Open Challenge. Surprisingly, TNA Champion Joe Hendry answered.
Joe Hendry vs. Randy Orton
I can’t believe this was happening. I watched while eating dinner so I’ll make this as brief as the match. Joe got in a bit of offense but never truly threatened. Then, as he did his turnaround pose, Orton hit him with the RKO at the 3:07 mark. A fun segment and Orton shook his hand before dropping him with another RKO and doing a goofy, Hendry style version of his pose. [**]
AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
Pretty basic start to this one with the two trading stuff and showing off their athleticism. Maybe it’s because I don’t care about the match but I found it hard to pay full attention. The stuff they were doing early was technically fine and not at all bad but it also didn’t grab my attention and that’s a problem. Logan did well to insert his douchebag personality into this, egging on the crowd and talking smack. He also did a nice Lionsault and cut off the springboard 450 splash before hitting his own Styles Clash. AJ countering the pin into his own Styles Clash was a cool idea that I don’t think I’ve seen before. One of Logan’s friends tried to intervene but Karrion Kross stopped him and took the brass knuckles from him. He tried to give them to AJ who threw them away and hit Karrion. AJ went to springboard in with the Phenomenal Forearm but Logan avoided it and laid him out with a right hand. He added the Paulverizer to win in 17:44. That felt like the longest match of the night. It wasn’t awful but I couldn’t really get into it and it dragged at points. [**½]
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez [c] vs. Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria
As expected, the “attacked” Bayley was replaced by Becky Lynch. It’s lame that they didn’t show anything about Bayley’s attack. No footage or even a notable announcement. Becky started hot but once Lyra came in, the champions took control and isolated the ring. The heat segment began when Liv shoved Lyra off the top and into a bi boot from Raquel. It came off pretty smoothly. The heat segment worked well because the crowd was into it and Liv kept adding in bits of personality throughout to keep it engaging. Becky’s hot tag run was pretty solid. Lyra saved Becky from Oblivion and then Becky beat Liv with the Manhandle Slam in 8:40. Solid enough, mostly because Liv is so goddamn good right now. [**½]
Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes [c] vs. John Cena
Talk about a big fight feel. Crowd was pretty pro-Cena. The early stages here were centered around Cena being a step behind Cody. Then, he found an opening and got going, turning the tide in his favor. Cena dictated the pace and worked slowly. Watching him work a heel style was a bit jarring to be honest. When Cody hit the Disaster Kick, things started to pick up and it was time for the big finisher kickouts, starting with Cody getting a shoulder up on the Attitude Adjustment. Cody survived an avalanche AA as well and then Cena hit a third before applying the STF. When Cody survived that, we also got the expected ref bump to set up the big finish. Cody hit the Cross Rhodes for the visual win and it was time for the drama. Cena used the exposed turnbuckle for offense and to deliver a fourth AA that still wasn’t enough. That was when we got the appearance of Travis Scott and Cena began to smile. He pulled the referee out as Cody hit another Cross Rhodes, then got in Cody’s face, so Cody planted him with Cross Rhodes. Cena then went to hit Cody with the title but Cody took it. Instead of using it, he couldn’t pull the trigger, allowing Cena to low blow him. He hit him with the title and got the three count after 25:03. I wasn’t a fan of that. The finisher spamming isn’t my cup of tea and that whole Travis Scott thing felt super awkward. [**]
