In my last blog, I shared my thoughts on the 1st night of Mania. I discussed what I liked. I also talked about what could’ve made it better. We’re back for Night 2 with something a little extra. If you’ve read the title, you’ll know why.
Night 2’s opener was an absolute banger. You simply can’t deny it. Iyo, Rhea and Bianca did an excellent job. There wasn’t a dull moment in the match. The pacing was solid from start to finish. Iyo retaining was a feel-good moment. The buildup to this match highlighted the need for Iyo to be respected. She was often overlooked as champion. This was an important win. WWE has a habit of having Japanese wrestlers lose their belts at WrestleMania…or any title shots (Asuka, need I say more).
Now for Drew vs. Priest. At first, I thought it might’ve been the happy gummy kicking in. However, upon re-watching the match, it’s exactly what I thought I saw; Drew dominated Damian the majority of the match. It was about 65-70% of Damian getting beat up by Drew. Every destructive spot involved Damian getting wrecked by Drew. This included a chair to the neck. There was also a Future Shock DDT on the steps. Let’s recall Damian was wrecked through two entire tables. The reason I had a gripe about this was because of how far Damian has fallen. He went from the desired cash-in that created history last year at Mania. His hustle and growth throughout his tenure as champion were notable. Then he was dragged through a Judgment Day story that needed an end. Then he moved to Smackdown and…no title shots for the US title, just him, Jacob Fatu and Drew. Hopefully, this issue will be fixed in some way this Friday on Smackdown; thus requiring a blog update.
The IC title Fatal 4 Way also turned out to be a very solid match , where everything meant something. The finish with Dominik surprising us and winning by pinning a fellow Judgment Day member was a welcome one. There’s even reason to believe that the finish is a perfect way to sow seeds to splinter the Judgment Day. We’ll get back to this later.
Orton ended up having a short match with TNA champion, Joe Hendry. Joe Hendry is essentially what happens if Stan’s dad from South Park became a pro wrestler. It’s a feel good moment brought to an end by the Viper. This is just my opinion. I would have preferred Nick Aldis to show up. He could have wrestled Orton in a solid 10-minute match.
Logan Paul vs. AJ Styles was a match that…had no need to exist unless the intent was to bring more Logan Paul fan eyes on the product. Logan beating AJ sucked. If WWE decide to start revving up the engines with Karrion Kross, it could revive his stagnant career. Using what happened here as the catalyst, the reflections regarding this match will differ.
Some of us Bayley fans are upset about her being removed from the tag match creatively. However, in hindsight it may be a blessing in disguise. The build to this was kinda weak. Yes, Lyra had successfully defended her Women’s IC belt against both Liv and Raquel. The problem is that Bayley has zero history with Judgment Day. Bayley had no incentive in this as she had also just lost to Lyra. Lyra also didn’t have any build for tag team action as she’d been presented as a singles wrestler. Bayley didn’t need another tag belt win. Sure, it felt good to see Becky step in and in effect, protect Bayley’s babyface character. In a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Bayley suggested this. Beyond her Hugger era, she’s never gone full baby face with efficiency. As for the win, it was short-lived as Lyra & Becky lost the rematch the next night on Raw. In frustration, Becky turned on Lyra, whom was someone that looked up to Becky. I believe this will aid developing Lyra’s character. Given the betrayal of a role model, Bayley’s involvement may be strategic. This situation can give us a Bayley vs. Becky match on that premise alone. Raquel and Liv regaining the Tag belts, keeps the premise of Judgment Day breaking up far away in sight.
Now for the Main Event…John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes. The build, in retrospect, had been problematic. The recent interview with The Rock on the Pat McAffee show didn’t do it any favors however…there’s a piece to this match that has more significance than people may know. The significance is further under the radar if you don’t know about Travis Scott. Cena had a very minimal entrance. Cody had the whole Evel Knievel motorcycle part of his entrance before he entered. As for the match itself, Cena went very old school heel in his approach while Cody was trying to escalate. Then, as things were reaching a climax, Fe!n by Travis Scott started playing. He shows up to disrupt the match flow and walking slowly down the ramp to the ring. Cody eventually snuffs him out. This gives Cena a chance to play dirty. When countered by Cody, he faces a choice. He can bonk Cena before the referee gets back up or play fair. There’s a lesson learned in the FromSoftware games — hesitation results in defeat and that’s what did Cody in. One low blow later, Cena is 17x WWE Champion.
Before I share my final thoughts on WrestleMania 41 Night 2, I want to discuss the significance of Travis Scott. Why him? Why did The Rock, TKO/WWE insert Travis Scott into all this? Was it beyond his song being a theme for the event itself? Let’s turn back the clock in regards to Travis Scott’s career. Remember Astroworld Festival? 10 people died and hundreds injured, forcing the 2nd night to be canceled. Victims were between ages 9-27. Somehow, despite his actions on the night of the event, the State of Texas didn’t indict him. They also didn’t indict those in charge of the event for being irresponsible regarding the events. Then the Nebula assault, where he punched a sound tech that ended up hospitalized. Not a single criminal charge. It had a settlement and nothing more. I can delve deeper into the series of incidents involving Travis Scott. However, these mentioned incidents are central to understanding his role in the Cena heel story.
In Elimination Chamber, Cena turned heel while Scott and the Rock were present. Scott lit up some sage and spread it around the ring. Meanwhile, Cody was getting beat up. When he showed up at WM41, he wore a shirt that said “Sage the Stage” with skull iconography. The meaning of lighting sage is associated with cleansing energy in environments. Knowing what we know about Travis Scott, the meaning is the inverse. Travis Scott showing up is like a black cat crossing your path. It signifies bad luck and calamity. Travis Scott has established himself as a celebrity and artist that is a magnet to calamity. His presence in the Cody vs. Cena match would be no different. If The Rock explained this in his recent interview, it would have clarified why The Final Boss didn’t show up. This explanation would’ve added meaning to everything we saw. He didn’t explain this. Because of this, it was a missed opportunity to add context to Travis Scott’s involvement.
Regarding match placement, I would’ve made the IC title match the opener. I would have moved the Women’s World title match to be right before Cody vs. Cena. The biggest plus here is that Logan’s match with AJ wasn’t needed. However, Logan’s win didn’t suck the air out of the audience. This was unlike how Grande Americano did on Night 1.
