WrestleMania 40, A Tale of New Champions

WrestleMania is where you can expect the unexpected in the wrestling industry—the biggest Premium Live Event on WWE & many people’s calendars. We hear stories of people travelling miles for this event, saving money to watch it, etc. WrestleMania XL had the opportunity to tell & finish stories of rivalries, more importantly, rivalries with titles on the line. The ones that stood out most were Sami Zayn Vs. Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship, Seth Rollins Vs. Drew McIntyre for the World Heavyweight Championship, Bayley Vs. Iyo Sky for the WWE Women’s Championship & Cody Rhodes Vs. Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. In this article, we will look at those matches above.

Sami Zayn Vs. Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship

It was a tale of an underdog challenger & a dominant champion, inspired by the 1985 movie, Rocky IV. Here we have Sami Zayn, who has been considered an underdog for almost his entire career facing off against a man like Gunther. Gunther is a dominant & scary champion. We have seen his now 666 days title reign & defences. We have seen him punish his competitors in the ring even after the match. This match made Sami look like the biggest underdog in his career. Before the match started, Sami’s wife & son wished him good luck. As Sami approached the ring, longtime friend Kevin Owens stopped him & wished him luck. That shows how big Sami’s support system truly is. Chad Gable supported Sami’s training leading up to the big match. Chad played the role of a mentor. Although he has not beaten Gunther, he claims he knows what it takes to beat him. Sami got the upper hand when the bell rang until Gunther completely took over. Although the crowd was very much behind Sami throughout this match, it did not stop Gunther’s attacks on Sami. But Sami had his moments where he would regain his monument until Gunther countered it. It was a cycle that every underdog encounters in their story. The match told an emotional story along with Gunther trash-talking Sami’s wife at ringside. Just as all hope was lost, Sami began showing signs of life. He hit Gunther with a Helluva Kick and then a Brainbuster in the corner followed by two more Helluva Kicks. Then like that, The Underdog From The Underground pinned the 666-day-long Intercontinental Champion to become the new Intercontinental Champion. It was a well-written story. Sami was taking beatdown after beatdown on Monday Raw, trained hard with Gable & finally all that hard work & pain paid off in the end. If there is anyone who can play the underdog properly, it is Sami Zayn. Gunther’s reign will live on & he will live on as the longest-dominant Intercontinental champion. Now, Sami is no longer the underdog and has a favour to pay to his mentor, Chad Gable. Will it be the setup to mentee vs. mentor? 

Seth Rollins Vs. Drew McIntyre for the World Heavyweight Championship

This told the story of an obsessed challenger dying for his moment in front of fans & a barely hanging-on champion. This match was heavily built up. After winning Elimination Chamber, Drew was mad almost every Monday Raw & went off on the mic, dropping his pipe bombs. He believed that Seth was barely focused on the World Heavyweight Championship match & more focused on The Bloodline & his tag team match with Cody Rhodes against Roman Reigns & The Rock. Seth says that he is focused but Drew dismissed him. Drew believed he was on top of the world & heading towards an even greater high. Then came in CM Punk. CM Punk played a huge factor in this match not only he was a guest commentator for their match at WrestleMania, but he was also an instigator. Drew is heavily obsessed with CM Punk because he injured him at the Royal Rumble. Drew went on to mention CM Punk in almost all of his promos, make shirts, and call himself “the saviour of WrestleMania”. Monday Night Raw in Chicago had Seth, Punk & Drew in the same ring roasting each other & eventually, CM Punk was announced as the special guest commentator. Come night two of WrestleMania, Seth is barely functioning after his tag team match with Cody against Roman & The Rock & the loss they took at night one. Drew came out to the stage with warriors holding their swords up as an arch & Seth had a colourful band playing his music. The bell rang & Drew hit a Claymore right away but that would not end the match. Throughout the match, we saw Drew live tweet that he is “bored at work! LOL!” while beating Seth. Seth’s legs were giving out. There was a bit of trash-talking from CM Punk on commentary. Both men in the match took big shots at each other until one stayed down. Drew hit multiple Claymores on Seth, showing how determined & eager he was for his big moment. He was truly obsessed. But, Seth kept kicking out until he did not. Seth was pinned for the three count & Drew was crowned the new World Heavyweight Champion & achieved his moment in front of fans. But it did not end there. Drew went on to taunt CM Punk, with the title, showing even in his biggest moment, he needed to drag others down to show his superiority. Until CM Punk grabbed Drew’s leg & pulled him off the table. Punk continued to beat up Drew until Damian Priest’s music hit & cashed in on Drew. South of Heaven chokeslam & Damian was the new World Heavyweight Championship. In the end, it was Drew’s obsession with CM Punk that cost him both his WrestleMania moment in front of fans & the World Heavyweight Championship. Seth was also a victim of obsession. He focused too much on The Bloodline & not his title match & in the end, it cost him. The story is a reminder that we have to be aware of what & who is around us & not become self-centred & obsessed with achieving our moment because there might be someone there to take it all away from us. After all, CM Punk got the last laugh.

Bayley Vs. Iyo Sky for the WWE Women’s Championship

This match was bound to happen the moment Damage CTRL brought in Kairi Sane & Asuka. Bayley is the “reason” why Kairi went away from WWE as she beat her down backstage. Damage CTRL also had a slight rivalry with Asuka. Asuka & Kairi are considered to be Iyo’s closest friends in WWE. After Survivor Series in November, the group started to doubt Bayley & started to leave her hanging. They stopped interfering in her matches to help her win & claimed they “could not do anything because the ref was watching”. Flash forward to the Royal Rumble, the group doubted that Bayley would win but Bayley outlasted 29 other women to set a record & won the Rumble. She declared that she would face Rhea Ripley. But moments before her decision she heard Iyo, Kairi & Asuka saying how “Bayley is done”. This later led to Bayley calling them out, turning on Damage CTRL & saying she would now face Iyo for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania. Throughout the road to WrestleMania, this rivalry was downplayed, mostly thanks to The Rock & his involvement with WWE. Instead of being the main event of night one, the women became the co-main event on night two. They got less screen/ring time & most of the time their promos were videotaped & shown. But that did not stop the women from putting on one hell of a match at WrestleMania. Both women had great intros & Bayley got new entrance music, fully embracing her Role Model gimmick with “Hey Bayley” chants from the crowd. The match told a story of once friends now rivals. There were false finishes, it was obvious that one moonsault would not put Bayley away. Iyo’s counter from Bayley’s Rose Plant was so beautiful. This shows how much the two women have grown & known each other for the two years their faction stayed together. The match felt right with no interference or weapons, it made the match more important. It showed how eager Iyo was to retain & prove to Bayley she could beat her & for Bayley, it was to prove that she could redeem herself & prove that she did not need Damage CTRL to help her even when she was injured in the match. Bayley won the WWE Women’s Championship from Iyo & did not have a big celebration. After winning, she looked at Iyo, wanting to celebrate with her but could not. Bayley overcame the obstacle of Damage CTRL & is fully embracing her Role Model gimmick again. While Iyo will presumably question the group’s choice not to interfere in the match. This frenemy rivalry will for sure continue. The story shows that even the closest people to you are willing to betray you for other people even if you have given them everything & have taken the blame for situations. Sometimes, you just need to be the bigger person like Bayley is and confront those “friends” & realize they are not your true friends. It is a story about friendship & betrayal. 

Roman Reigns Vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

This match tells a long-awaited story. After the unfortunate loss Cody had at WrestleMania 39 & going on a workhorse run; fighting on Monday Raw, PLEs, & even house shows, Cody’s build-up to WrestleMania 40 proved why he should be the new Champion & dethrone Roman Reigns. Cody even proved why he should be the “People’s Champion” instead. Cody won the Royal Rumble twice in a row putting him up there as one of the few men to win back-to-back Royal Rumbles. It was obvious that Cody would go after Roman since Roman holds the Championship that was taken away from Cody’s father, Dusty, at Madison Square Garden. The same day Dusty won the Championship, he got it taken away from him. Years later, Cody is here trying to finish that story & prove that a Rhodes can hold a Championship. The main event of night two was held under Bloodline rules due to Cody & Seth losing the night one main event tag team match against The Rock & Roman Reigns. This means anything goes (tables, weapons, interferences, etc). This match told a story & finished some stories. Both men had amazing entrance even Cody’s wife, Brandi showed up for his. The match consisted of several false finishers, weapons used, tables, and fighting at ringside as both men used everything to their advantage to win the Championship. As both men entered back into the ring, Jimmy Uso showed up. Jimmy tried assisting Roman only for Jey to come out & save Cody. As the twins were fighting on stage, Jey & Jimmy crashed through multiple tables next to the stage taking each other out. This shows how their rivalry is still alive & will not end at WrestleMania 40. Then Solo Sikoa showed up & once again almost cost Cody’s chance at winning the Championship. Until John Cena comes running down the ramp to kick Solo out of the ring and gives an Attitude Adjustment to Roman & another AA to Solo on the announce table. Cena came back to finish his business with Solo after Solo “sent Cena packing” after Crown Jewel in November. That is one storyline finished. Then The Rock’s entry music starts & he comes walking down the ring & cussing. Once he & Cena enter the ring, we get a staredown of the “Once in a Lifetime” match that happened more than ten years ago. The staredown proved that even after all these years, the rivalry between Cena & The Rock was still alive. The rock gave Cena a Rock Bottom & then The Shield’s music started playing. Seth Rollins showed up from behind with a chair only to receive a Superman Punch from Roman. Before The Rock did anything else, The Undertaker’s bell hit & stunned the whole place, the lights went out & back on & there was the Dead-man in the ring. This was the first time in both men’s careers that they shared the same ring at WrestleMania. He delivered a chokeslam to The Rock & then the lights went out & back on & the only people left in the ring were Roman, Cody & Seth. Cena & The Undertaker came back for revenge on Roman. Roman beat Cena at Summerslam in 2021 & he beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33, making the Dead-man’s WrestleMania streak 25-2. It can be argued that Cena was also seeking revenge on The Bloodline, especially with The Rock involved. With Roman left standing chair in his hand, he had the choice. On his right was his opponent, Cody Rhodes, a man so desperate to win the championship his father never lost & on Roman’s right, Seth Rollins, a man he once considered his brother. The Shield was family to Roman. Roman hit Seth with a chair instead of Cody. It was an act of revenge, the revenge he had been seeking after being hit with a chair in the back by Seth in 2014 causing The Shield to break up. With that act done, Cody saw the opportunity & gave three Cross Rhodes to Roman to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. It was an emotional fight. This match showed that the ghosts of Roman’s past will forever haunt him but more importantly, The Shield will forever haunt him because of how much he considered them as family, it can be argued that Roman valued The Shield more than The Bloodline, he even tells Seth that “[Seth] made him this way”. He refuses to let go & move on from them & Seth is well aware of this. The entire match showed acts of revenge & refusal to let go of the past by most wrestlers. It was beautiful storytelling at its finest. At the end of the match, most of the babyfaces who have faced Roman & lost in the past years came running down the ramp to celebrate with Cody. Cody Rhodes finally finishes his story & earns back the belt his father never lost. The Bloodline-Rhodes storyline is a storyline that dates back to the 70s & now it has some closure. It shows that your past can haunt you even in the biggest moments, but also to recognize the past & that sometimes, it is okay to let go of it. Acknowledge that it happened, find the closure & move on.

In the end, WrestleMania 40 showed a lot of awesome matches but more importantly, it told & finished stories that needed closure like The Undertaker. He said that “Appearing at Wrestlemania 40 has given him the proper closure he needed”. It also showed that some rivals even after their match are still well & alive like John Cena & The Rock, Bayley & Iyo Sky or the Uso twins. But, it closed important stories such as Cody’s. Allowing him to move on to greater things with the championship that was robbed from his father decades ago. It gave closure & excitement for the future to wrestling fans.