Gavin Vondercrone
Staff Writer
This past weekend, WWE hosted its 40 annual WrestleMania. It was held at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The first night was on Saturday and the second on Sunday.
WWE held their first WrestleMania in 1985, and the event has only grown bigger since then. Having taken place in multiple different venues across the country, WrestleMania has grown into a household name across its 40 years of existence.
I attended the first night of this year’s WrestleMania. Despite the frigid temperatures and whipping winds, the event lived up to all of my expectations.
Upon arrival, the stadium was jam-packed full of some of the most passionate wrestling fans one could find. Whether it be for food, merchandise or even the bathroom, everywhere I’d look there would be a line that seemed to have no end.
The first match of the night saw Becky Lynch take on Rhea Ripley for the women’s world championship. The former of the two would retain her title in a hard-hitting, thrilling match.
Immediately following was my personal favorite match of the night, the six-team ladder match for the tag-team championships. The match was full of exciting moments from start to finish, with multiple people getting put through tables and jumping off ladders.
The final moments of the match are what made it the highlight of the night for me, as longtime veteran and fan-favorite R-Truth would climb up to win the Raw tag-team titles, sending the fans in attendance into a frenzy. For Truth, it was his first win at WrestleMania in his 24-year-long career.
The fans in attendance brought the energy all night. Despite the unfavorable weather conditions, the cheers and chants could be heard throughout the stadium. From shouting “Yeet,” after every punch thrown by Jey Uso, to going ballistic for just about everything R-Truth did, Philadelphia was as loud as they could be Saturday night.
The rest of the match card was full of some great highlights as well. Philadelphia Eagles legends Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson helped Rey Mysterio win against Santos Escobar, the aforementioned Jey Uso picked up a win against his brother Jimmy, and Jade Cargil got her first win in WWE against Damage CTRL.
The biggest shock of the night came in the intercontinental championship match, as Sami Zayn pulled off what seemed to be impossible by defeating Gunther to win the title. The loss marked the end of Gunther’s 666 day reign as intercontinental champion, the longest reign in WWE history.
Following that match came the main event: Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins taking on Roman Reigns and The Rock. It’s safe to say, the match lived up to all of the hype.
After a bit of a slow start, all four competitors picked up the pace. The crowd went crazy for every big spot and near finish. The contest truly lived up to “main event status.”
The best part of the main event was easily The Rock, as not only did he secure the win, but he didn’t miss a single beat despite his age.
The win for The Rock and Reigns left the crowd stunned, and set up the “Bloodline Rules” stipulation for the second night’s main event between Rhodes and Reigns for the universal championship.
The first night of WrestleMania XL lived up to all my expectations and then some. It was absolutely worth the headache I had once I got home. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.
