WrestleMania XL Review | WWE’s Endgame

The WWE’s WrestleMania XL concluded last night and we finally see a new light into the next era, where new champions arise and the stories end. From Rhea Ripley’s Title retainment to Cody Rhodes’ journey to finish his story, the past two Nights have been incredible and very majestic all around, even to someone who rarely watches professional wrestling any longer, or for someone who only recently started tuning in to WWE. Wrestlemania XL is the perfect moment to do just that.

WrestleMania XL’s Night 1 primarily focuses on tying up some feuds, particularly the fight between Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso, and crowning new champions to begin the dawn of the new era while also setting to be one of, if not, the best WrestleMania Night of all time for WrestleMania XL’s Night 2, where we see the culmination of everything: Roman Reigns chose to confront his past rather than basking in the present, John Cena and The Rock clashing in the ring once more, and finally, Cody Rhodes claims the pinnacle of his story, the WWE Universal Championship.

This WrestleMania XL review will take a deep dive into the matches that occur in WrestleMania XL, the stage, the overall presentation, and how WWE potentially has successfully enacted the truly grandest WrestleMania in history so far. Let’s begin. 

WrestleMania XL Night 1

The first night of WrestleMania XL is undoubtedly an overall good show, however, when you try to compare it with the second Night, then it’s practically being blown out of the window. I’m not necessarily saying that Night 1’s quality is bad, it’s just that the beautiful Night 2 of WrestleMania XL is simply incredibly amazing. Night 1 is still solid, though I feel some low points held Night 1 back.

WrestleMania XL begins with Triple H cutting a promo to welcome the audience to the Grandest Stage of Them All and ends his promo by saying that the WWE Universe is currently witnessing a new era of professional wrestling.  Honestly, I can’t say much about this segment, but for an opener, Triple H did a fantastic and convincing job on the mic to ensure the audience will love what he and his teams have prepared for them.

Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch | A Great Opener

The first match of the entire WrestleMania sees Becky Lynch trying to wrestle the Women’s World Championship from its champion, Rhea Ripley. From the get-go, their entrances are captivating and embrace each wrestler’s identity perfectly. A special moment arrives when Rhea Ripley’s theme song is performed live by Motionless in White.

The match itself is honestly of great quality. This is a proper wrestling match between two great performers who, time and time again, manage to put forth a wonderful matchup between the two of them. 

This opener ends with Rhea Ripley hitting Becky Lynch with not one, but two Riptides (one to the turnbuckles and followed up by another Riptide) to help her retain the Women’s World Championship at  WrestleMania XL.

Overall, for what’s it worth, this opening match is incredible to kickstart WrestleMania XL, and the bout between the two women is a high octane, I don’t see any slow burner moment where both women just grab each other or time-wasting by rolling out from the ring or such theatrics. Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch is most definitely a great 4.5 out of 5-star match.

Mami Stays On Top.

Six-Pack Ladder Match | Full-Blown Chaos

Another highlight from WrestleMania XL’s Night 1 is the chaotic Ladder Match between six teams vying for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, with the Judgement Day having to defend both of their titles against five other teams.

The teams that participated in this match were The New Day, #DIY, Awesome Truth, New Catch Republic, A-Town Down Under, and the champions, the Judgement Day. The stipulation that surrounds this match is phenomenal, as the numerous spots that are only possible with the help of the Ladders occur on this match. 

The two spots that I genuinely find incredible are the Double Moonsaults by Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate at the earlier part of the match, which sees them each Moonsaulting on several members from other teams. Another comes around when Grayson Waller, after grabbing the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, receives a big powerbomb by the New Catch Republic to a ladder, bringing a symbolic meaning that even champions shouldn’t be too complacent at any given time.

What impresses me the most is the decision to finally separate the two Tag Team titles again, by having different champions take their respective brand titles. A-Town Down Under managed to grab the SmackDown Tag Team Championship while the Awesome Truth secured their victory by grabbing the Raw Tag Team Championship.

Overall, this Six-Pack Ladder Match is super crazy, and the spots the wrestlers take advantage of with the Ladders are devastating and generate a huge and loud pop from the crowd whenever they enact one. And finally, we can see R-Truth getting his well-deserved WrestleMania moment after waiting for years after years.  This match, just like the previous one, also receives a 4.5-star rating from me.

Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns and The Rock

The final match of WrestleMania XL’s Night 1, the Main Event, has us watching the feud between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns, each having a partner in Seth Rollins and The Rock respectively, and trying to determine how Night 2’s Main Event will take place: Either using The Bloodline Rules or simply a normal Main Event match.

I have to say, in terms of the in-ring work, this Main Event is such a slow-burner and has a distinct ‘Bloodline’ flavor in it to the point that the match feels typical of Roman Reigns’ works. However, what made this match special and beyond was the story behind it. 

Overall, this Tag Team match for WrestleMania XL’s first Main Event is beautiful, both the in-ring works and the underlying story behind these wrestlers and their history with each other. Though I had hoped that the match would be fast from the get-go, the final leg of the match carried this Main Event to I dare say, a fantastic Main Event all around which deserves to be rated as a 5-Star match.

WrestleMania XL Night 2

For the next part of this WrestleMania XL review, I’d like to talk about the event’s Night 2, which I think is arguably one of the best WrestleMania nights of all time. Yes, you read that right. Now, let me explain why I can confidently say that.

I will highlight two important matches that occurred in WrestleMania XL Night 2: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns.

Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre | When Obsession Trumps Ambition

The opener of the second night of WrestleMania XL pits the World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, against his challenger, Drew McIntyre, where these two wrestlers have beef with each other dating back to 2023. The build-up to this match was the best part.

The storytelling between Seth and Drew was so on-point that their feud felt like they wanted to tear each other down. And once you add CM Punk to the mix, then the promo cuts and story gets even better from there. Drew once said that Seth was too focused on the Bloodline and helping Cody and neglecting his Championship match, which as we know by now, he lost to Drew at WrestleMania XL.

But the beautiful part is that Drew’s own words toward Seth are also his major downfall, as his reign as the new World Heavyweight Champion is cut short because he is obsessed with CM Punk, who, after the bell rang, beat up Drew, which allows Damian Priest, the previous Mr. Money in the Bank to cash-in on Drew McIntyre.

Overall, this match’s story is superb, an absolute gem of professional wrestling storytelling. However, I can’t give this match a better star rating than 4 in good conscience because the in-ring work itself was lackluster. Just seconds after the referee rings the bell, Drew slaughtered Seth with his Claymore, which then initiates more Finishers after Finishers for the entire match.

Still, surprisingly, for a Finisher fest, this match didn’t do that bad, in fact, the emotions that both wrestlers emulate help us as the audience to connect with their grievances of trying to pin down the other by using any means necessary.

Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns | A Main Event for the Ages

The crowd popped when Cody Rhodes entered the WrestleMania XL stage, as he was wearing a skull helmet resembling his icon, the American Nightmare. The crowd popped once again as Brandi Rhodes accompanied her partner and gave him a parting gift to prepare him for his upcoming fight against Roman Reigns. Even though we saw this scene last year, when Cody’s theme hits the “Woah!” part, the crowd sang along in a thunderous manner, which to this day, still gives me the chills.

Contrary to the match itself, surprisingly, unlike the usual Roman Reigns match, where he starts slow and methodical, this time, both men came at each other immediately. Punches after punches, throws after throws all came out in the opening minutes of the match, thus making this Main Event not dull at all.

The American Nightmare Has the Crowd Behind His Back.

The crazy part kicked in when Jimmy Uso interrupted Cody while he was trying to do Triple Cross-Rhodes, which once again, foil his dreams and hopes momentarily. However, Cody is not alone as Jey Uso confronts his brother on the ramp, which subsequently leaves them out of the equation. Things didn’t end there, though, as Solo Sikoa, who ended Cody’s dream at WrestleMania 39 returns once again to deliver a Samoan Spike to Cody Rhodes, which prompts both Solo and Roman to deliver Tag Finishers on Cody.

But things don’t end there, folks! When everyone thought that the match was nearing its end, John Cena’s theme kicked in. He stormed the ring like there was no tomorrow and proceeded to annihilate Solo Sikoa with an Attitude Adjustment onto the announcer’s table. Things get spicy and thunderous as the Final Boss, The Rock, finally appears to try and correct things as John Cena was meddling in The Bloodline’s business.

The Tribal Chief Enters the Stage.

I’m going to say it now, but the sequence that follows The Rock’s entrance will be my absolute favorite moment of WrestleMania XL, potentially one of my top three moments of WrestleMania’s Main Event of all time. John Cena and The Rock, long-time rivals, engage in an intense stare-down. John Cena mocks The Rock with his trademark “You Can’t See Me” gimmick. However, The Rock thwarts John Cena’s next attack with a Rock Bottom.

BUT THEN The Undertaker’s signature gong kicks in. The crowd’s pop is the greatest and loudest I’ve ever heard during this event, and you bet that my inner child is happy to see The Undertaker back in the ring, albeit only for a moment.

I know tons of fans wanted “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to crash The Rock’s party, however, The Undertaker’s presence made much more sense when you think about his feuds with the Samoan family throughout the years, and since The Rock proclaimed himself as the Final Boss, I think that The Undertaker arrived at WrestleMania XL to remind him that there is a definite Boss of WrestleMania, the Deadman who held the longest win streak of all time, and that man is The Undertaker, not The Rock.

The match then ends when Cody Rhodes is finally able to utilize his trifecta Cross-Rhodes on Roman Reigns and pinned him to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. This match is a 5-star match through and through, from the story build-up, the end line, the crazy bookings that occurred during the match, the many spots and bumps that both Cody and Roman took, even to the point that Cody Rhodes stole the Spear from Roman Reigns, and vice versa with Roman using Cross-Rhodes to Cody… This is an absolute cinema. This is WWE’s Endgame moment, and I’m genuinely happy to see Cody finally being able to finish his story, the one his father didn’t manage to do during his tenure.

He Finally Did It!

And that’s my review of WWE’s biggest event of the year, the WrestleMania XL.