WrestleMania 41 - Matches of Interest (Day 2)

Happy WrestleMania!

Did you enjoy Day 1? I liked it though it was a bit formulaic. Given how it has been hit or miss for years, I respect the back to basics reset. This puts things on firmer footing going forward which was always necessary. 

Match of the Night appears to be, hands down, the main event with Paul Heyman being the primary player. He turns on both CM Punk and Roman Reigns to side with The Architect, Seth Rollins. It was fun, I have to admit. Everyone played their parts well and the action was satisfying. As the night seemed to demonstrate, they all stuck to the book. This appears to be the Seth Rollins Era as “The Plan” goes into effect. What that means exactly remains to be seen but the beginning is compelling. 

Outside of that, I’m kinda glad I had the lay of the land read. There were no surprises besides who was in attendance to an extent. Most announced are known fans or affiliates so again, a very textbook sentiment seems to be in the air. Again, I don’t mind it given where things currently stand. Sometimes it’s good to do a factory reset and try again. 

I also enjoyed the Charlotte Flair vs. Tiffany Stratton match. It was scrappy even though there was hair everywhere. I don’t think there really could have been another option but a Stratton win at this time but Flair fought competitively and made it clear that she’ll always be a contender as long as she’s willing and able. 

Yet, given people souring, it may be time for Flair to “go find herself” so to speak. When she came out to beat up Stratton in casual street clothes, that was a more relatable side of The Queen we had not seen. Perhaps it’s time to “strip down” and let the more honest Charlotte Flair come through? Allow some sense of merit rather than pedigree to lead for once. It’s a time to experiment. We’ll see what they come up with.

Day 2, however, appears to already be shaping up to be a bit “unusual”. Bayley got jumped backstage so that leaves the door open for someone to fill in for her in the Tag Team Match with Lyra Valkyria and then Randy Orton has an open challenge allowing anyone to step up as well. Who will the “shockers” be? Well, many are anticipating Becky Lynch to step back up to the plate and partner with Valkyria. Don’t see why she wouldn’t kill 2 birds with 1 stone and start up a rivalry with Bayley too. 

The only other person that comes to mind is maybe Nia Jax. Lynch makes sense due to her endorsement of Valkyria but Jax is the type of character that would just insert herself into the narrative. The motives are hard to figure other than just getting a Title and getting back into the conversation. If it’s not her, then it’s one of the newbies from NXT. Stephanie Vaquer has been getting a lot of attention as well as Giulia. If it’s not a familiar face it will be a soon to be familiar face. We’ll have to wait and see.

As for Orton’s opponent, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Kevin Owens. He's supposed to be laid up somewhere recovering but you can't trust him. You can only trust that he'll be Kevin Owens and Owens would disinform.

It could be someone like Rusev/Miro as reports are stating that he re-signed with WWE. The distinction was that Lana/CJ Perry would not be following though they reconciled their relationship. I didn’t even know they got divorced but apparently the sentiment seems to be they’re better together than apart. But I digress. Seeing how a Rusev surprise return takes can better gauge the future. 

The same could potentially be said for Jeff Cobb who has been rumored to have signed a deal as well but I’m not sure how true that is. It seems he’s still finishing up some New Japan stuff.

And if the WWE acquisition of AAA is any indication of wrestling partnerships, perhaps the likes of Joe Hendry from TNA may fill the void for Orton. He’s campy but fun and that seems to be the theme of this “open challenge”. Just like with the Ladies, if it’s none of this, it’s probably a NXT call up. I wouldn’t dare suspect. Just don’t know enough to.

So, that leaves the main event in John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes. In the showdowns, when push comes to shove, Cena has been rolling over. Yet, given this is the big show, I’m anticipating some “on high” interference. The Rock will probably interfere to at least try to give Cena the win. There is the off chance that Rhodes Heel Turns and Cena is given the incentive to overcome and win honorably but I doubt that. 

As I’ve voiced before, Rhodes being a Face is the crux of being a Face. Being good can be seen as boring. Look to Ned Flanders for modern pop culture reference. As fun as it is to pick on his straight and narrow presentation, it’s only interesting when a character like that breaks bad. That’s why the TV show Breaking Bad was such a hit. An unlikely candidate broke the law. The downfall is what’s entertaining. Here, since Rhodes already overcame, how is the interaction made to be entertaining. That is what we will be watching. 

And so that’s what I got for the final night of 2025’s WrestleMania.  Since this night falls on Easter, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few “Easter eggs” but I wouldn’t be able to speculate. All I can say is that Day 1 was by the book. It wouldn't be too farfetched to think that Day 2 wouldn’t be. Yet, it will probably be purposely not by the book. There were no surprises on Day 1 so that’s what Day 2 may be for. That, and next week so we will see what Day 2 holds. 

I didn’t mind the routine WrestleMania. I had fun and found the matches well done and entertaining. It was clean and respectable which hasn’t been the case in years so, I’ll call it an improvement even if it was pretty standardized. I prefer an established precedent to winging it any day. 

I’ll leave it at that. The unofficial watch party will be at 4pm PDT. I missed the beginning of WrestleMania because sites I looked at made it seem like that’s when the Kick-Off began but that’s the start time. I presume the Kick-Off starts at 2pm or 3pm. Let’s see how this all comes to a close.

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)