Photo illustrations above and below courtesy of WWE.
By JEFF WILEN / JAWBreaker
Wrestling columnist for Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Night 2 blew away Night 1 of Wrestlemania 42 from Las Vegas, having Brock Lesnar's assumed retirement and the top match in Roman Reigns over CM Punk.
The crowd also was fired up more for Night 2, but that was also helped by the match-ups and better in-ring work. Lesnar retiring was unexpected and huge (although Gunther could cash in his "favor" and wrestle Lesnar at Summerslam); Lesnar crying was completely out of character. Better here than Gunther retiring Lesnar at Summerslam.
Night 2 also had new stars developed in Oba Femi and Trick Williams, while Jade finally made me a believer, even in her loss to Rhea Ripley.
There was comedy with Danhausen.
Night 1 was just average. Nothing really stood out to me, other than Paige being more over with the crowd than I thought she would be in the four-way womens tag title match.
WWE needs to figure out some challengers for Cody Rhodes from Smackdown, and fast.
Put the two nights together and this was an above-average WrestleMania. Due to a solid Night 2 of action, the possible retirement of Lesnar and the dominance of Reigns, this event earns a a grade of B+.
Overall, I finished 9-4 on my picks, though I was 0-2 in the main event matches, having picked Randy Orton over Rhodes in Night 1 and Punk over Reigns in Night 2.
Night 1 Recap: Tied of Cody Rhodes
No real result surprises on Saturday (I went 5-2).
LA Knight got a much needed win in the opener, while Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre had one of the better matches.
Paige, as the rumored replacement for Nikki Bella, had a huge crowd pop and did very well, while Becky Lynch was clearly more deserving than AJ Lee.
While Seth Rollins vs. Gunther was decent, the highlight was Bronn Breakker running down the ramp and spearing Rollins. Liv Morgan had a great ramp entrance, is firing on all cylinders right now, and should get a lengthy championship run.
Congrats to Bianca Belair on her pregancy announcement in a live segment in the ring with emvee John Cena.
I'm tired of Cody Rhodes as champion, and WWE continuing the Rhodes-Randy Orton feud proves that Smackdown has zero star power.
Night 2: Femi-Lesnar outstanding
I went 4-2 on my picks Sunday night.
What a superb opening match between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi. The key for WWE here will be making sure Oba has the world title later this year.
The ladder match was entertaining, and just as I said, Je'Von Evans had the best spots and Penta got the win. I was a little surprised Trick Williams got the win over Sami Zayn; the match wasn't that great either.
I loved the ring entrances for Dominik Mysterio and Demon Finn Balor, and the result was a no-brainer.
Jade Cargill really needed a match like this against Rhea Ripley, though even the loss helps her future. The run-ins worked too. The John Cena-Danhausen-The Miz segment was well done; the mini-Danhausens made me laugh.
CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns was the biggest match on paper, and outshined every other match. Punk had me believing (I picked him to win), and I thought he did well, een though he lost the match and his championship belt. Both men also had good entrances.
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