Wrestlemania 38

Wrestlemania 38 is from Dallas, it is the 141st WWF PPV.   The build.

Dark Matches: Ricochet d. Axiom

                         British Strong Style (Dunne/Bate) d. Alexander/Tozawa

                         Dark Ride Title: Walter (w/Heyman) d. Dragunov

There's a clip package to open the show blending past and present - there's the Wild Samoans, then the Usos, there's the Headshrinkers, then Reigns - it's Ric Flair and then Charlotte, Kurt Angle and Chad Gable, Cowboy Bob and Randy Orton, there's Dominic Mysterio as a boy and now him in the ring today, a very young Edge and then today's God of Carnage, Drew McIntyre in developmental and then today, Bobby Lashley as the Executioner, Lynch and Banks in developmental - there's Steve Austin with Brian Pillman, Paul Heyman's original Dangerous Alliance, here's Brock Lesnar squaring off against Angle at WM 19, a young Belair listening to Banks address the newest trainees, Kingston with Floyd Mayweather, Owens/Generico as part of GDI, Black with Danielson in a previous generation, the formation of the WWF Bullet Club with Styles/Nakamura/Devitt, all interspersed with current shots.

 There's the shot of a sold out ATT Stadium in Dallas, and then the images of the announce teams from the first 37 Wrestlemanias fly across the screen.

WM1-6 Gorilla/Jesse

WM 7- Gorilla/Piper

WM 8 - Gorilla/Bobby

WM 9 - JR/Gorilla

WM 10 - Gorilla/Cornette

WM 11 - JR/Cornette

WM 12 - Gorilla/Vince/Cornette

WM 13-14 JR/Cornette

WM 15 - Cole/Lawler/Hayes

WM 16 - JR/Lawler/Undertaker 

WM 17 - JR/Cornette/Bobby

WM 18 - JR/Heyman

WM 19-20 JR/Taz

WM 21 - JR/Taz/Heyman

WM 22-23 - Joey/Taz

WM 24 - Joey/JR/Foley

WM 25-26 Joey/JR/Striker

WM 27 - Joey/JR/Stanford

WM 28 - Joey/JR/Heyman

WM 29 - Joey/JR

WM 30-31  Joey/Regal/Christian

WM 32 - Ranallo/Regal

WM 33 - Ranallo/JR/Regal/Nigel

WM 34 - Ranallo/Regal/Nigel

WM 35 - Ranallo/Heyman/Nigel

WM 36 - Ranallo/Heyman/Joe

WM 37 - Stanford/Heyman/Joe

To the announcers, Scott Stanford (8th PPV, Nigel McGuinness, his 15th and final PPV in this run, there won't be an angle with his leaving, we did one the prior time, he quietly leaves over the summer; and Wade Barrett, it's his second PPV)

Clips of every Randy Orton WM now appear.

WM 21 - Orton and Cena take the tag titles from Helms/Rhyno in a 3 way with Hass/Benjamin.

WM  22 - Cena/Orton lose a 4 way, Dead Men Walking going over, it's the breakup for Orton/Cena

WM 23 - Orton takes the Worldwide Titles (IC/US/TV) from Helms, Jeff Hardy is also in the match.

WM 25 - Orton beats Fit Finlay

WM 27 - Defiance loses the tag belts to Barrett/Gabriel 

WM 28 - Defiance loses the tag belts to Young Money

WM 29 - Orton beats Fandango Curtis in a No DQ match

WM 30 - Defiance loses the opening tag to the Wyatts

WM 31 - Orton and Miz lose to Reigns/Jimmy Uso

WM 33 - Orton and Cena reunite, beating Wyatt/Harper

WM 34 - Orton/Cena lose a 4 way, Sheamus/Miz going over

WM 36 - Orton beats Cena

WM 37 - Defiance wins the tag belts over New Day

1. NUMBER ONE CONTENDERS: STREET PROFITS d. DEFIANCE (ORTON/PRIEST w/Crews)

 

The Profits have been feuding with Defiance since Survivor Series, they win here (Ford pinning Orton) to get the tag title shot at Summer Slam.  Big babyface win to open the show - we don't know this yet, but this is Orton's last PPV as of this writing, we'll discuss that and how Defiance becomes reshaped when it's timely.  

Clips of every Rey Mysterio WM now appear

WM 19 - Rey keeps his Worldwide belts over Chavo

WM 20 - Rey wins a 3 way over Tajiri and Ultimo Dragon

WM 21 - Rey wins the Legends Match over Undertaker/PAUL

WM 22 - Rey wins the Undisputed Title (WWF/NWA/ECW) taking from Benoit in his final match.

WM 25 - Rey returns to Mania after a 3 year absence, taking the IC from MVP.

WM 26 - Rey/Chavo defeat the Colons

WM 27 - Rey's first Mania loss, to Danielson

WM 30 - Rey loses to Bray Wyatt

WM  35 - 5 years later, Ray and La Sombra team to beat Kalisto and Crews, Crews turns heel - Rey is saved by Kevin Steen, emerging from the crowd

2. NUMBER ONE CONTENDER: REY MYSTERIO d. DOMINIC MYSTERIO/KINGSTON/WOODS

The legendary Mysterio wins the elimination match and he will head to Summer Slam to challenge for the IC Title.  Kingston/Woods have been part of the New Day for years - but they lost to the Holy Roman Empire at the Rumble and were forced to disband - they both qualified for this match and there's been increased tension between them, Kingston pins Woods here.  Rey has been clear that young Dominic is not ready for this stage - he'd like him to stay in developmental for another couple of years - Dom thinks he's been held down and wants to prove himself.  Rey says he won't wrestle his son - not because he's his son - but because Dom is not ready and Rey will not hold back and that may embarrass Dom.  Dom tries to engage Rey, but Rey refuses - Rey bails, allowing for Kingston/Dom to go at it, Kingston gets the better of him - but Dom catches him with a big move - allowing him to get a pinfall attempt -- that Rey breaks up.

Now - it's an elimination match, so there's no incentive seemingly for Rey to break up a fall - which an incredulous Dom recognizes - but as Dom is questioning Rey, what he isn't doing is noticing that Kingston is about to cradle him for the fall.  The announce explains what Rey did - if Dom eliminates Kingston, then Rey is forced to wrestle him - but instead, Rey distracted Dom, allowing Kingston to take him out, so Rey didn't have to (and it's a lesson for the young Mysterio to boot).  

Rey then eliminates Kingston to take the match.  

Clip package - the history of Charlotte and Becky at Mania.

WM 32 - Charlotte loses the Women's Title to Sasha

WM 33 - Becky takes the Women's Title from Sasha

WM 34 - Becky loses the Women's Title to Asuka

WM 35 - A mixed tag match, Charlotte and Roode beating Lynch and Anderson

WM 36 - The Montreal Match, Banks submits Lynch, Bayley/Charlotte are also in the match.

3. INTERGENDER MATCH: CHARLOTTE FLAIR/BECKY LYNCH d. LOGAN PAUL/PAT McAFEE

-This is a pretty good spectacle; there's the basic King/Riggs storyline, there's the early Mania era misogyny (the first Mania match was Bundy/Studd squashing Richer/Kai - some Richter element here would be ideal) there's the non WWF appeal of the heel men's team - and then there's the long Flair/Lynch history, as allies, as rivals, and for the past year as a tag team running roughshod.  The match has a lot of ga-ga, but McAfee and (especially) Paul are significantly better than fans will expect, to draw that out will take a really strong match layout, and while it could just be a mess, there's sneaky upside here if based on crowd response only.  The women go over - Lynch gets the fall on McAfee - postmatch, McAfee turns, he offers a handshake to the women and wants Paul to do the same...but nope, Logan Paul sneeringly exits McAfee puts over Lynch and Flair as real athletes, and he'll continue to do that on his show over the summer.

Clip package of every Edge match at WM

WM 6 - Edge and Christian are visible in the stadium

WM 14 - Edge and Christian in the ring pre-show with Matt and Jeff s the "Let Them Play" chants ring out

WM  15 - Dark match, Edge and Christian beat Taka and Scorpio

WM 16 - Edge and Christian lose a TLC tag title match with the Dudleys and Hardys

WM 17 - Edge and Christian lose a 4 way tag title match, the Dudleys winning

WM 18 - Edge and Christian beat Razor and HHH

WM 21 - 3 years later, Edge keeps his Worldwide belts, defeating Regal

WM 22 - Edge beats HBK

WM 23 - In the main event, Edge loses the Cell match to Matt, GDI, led by Punk, attacks postmatch

WM 24 - Edge beats Jericho

WM 25 - In the Montreal Match, Edge is part of the 4 way where Matt submits Jeff

WM 26 - In the main event, Edge and Matt beat Punk and Christian, Edge turning on Matt postmatch

WM 27 - Edge loses the WWF title to Punk

WM 32 - Edge is the special guest referee in the retirement match between Jericho and Hunter

WM 36 - Edge's first Mania in 9 years, he and Johnny Nitro drop the tag belts to the Street Profits

WM 37 - Edge beats Bray Wyatt in the Legends Match to become the God of Carnage

4. LEGENDS CARNAGE MATCH: STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN d. THE GOD OF CARNAGE EDGE v. (Special Guest Referee-THE UNDERTAKER)

Each Mania we do the special guest referee gimmick - often, that referee is outside the ring and just there for one spot, as established with Ali in WM 1, that's this, there's an actual official in the ring to count the falls.  Undertaker is here for the pop as he comes to the ring, to get in one physical spot with Edge outside, and to drink beer with Austin postmatch.  The match is smoke and mirrors (they should actually do a spot with smoke and mirrors) it outperforms expectations I suppose is the way to think about it - largelt fan service, Austin, Stunner, pinfall -- he goes over here with the hope he'll get to be used again.

Clip package - every Sasha Banks WM match

WM 32 - Sasha takes the Womens Title from Charlotte

WM 33 - Sasha drops the Womens Title to Becky

WM 36 - Sasha wins the Montreal Match, submitting Becky

WM 37 - Sasha loses the Women's Title to Ripley

5. BIANCA BELAIR d. SASHA BANKS 

-This feud has been booked like Banks is leaving the territory, she turned, became a jealous heel, insecure about her spot to an up and comer - and she goes down here, it's designed to clearly establish Belair as better, there's no redemption for Banks, she exits - she'll do whatever jobs are left to do and that, as of now, wraps her up.

History of Kevin Steen at WM.

WM 32 - Steen loses his WWF Title at his first Mania, also in Dallas, in the Elimination Chamber, Styles goes over.

WM 33 - Steen and Generico lost the tag titles in a ladder match to their former stablemates Trash

WM 34 -Steen, as Kid Canada, loses the Mask match to Generico - but then rips Genrerico's mask off anyway in one of the defining moments of late period WWF.

WM 35 - Steen has been absent for months, he runs in from the crowd for a babyface save of Rey

WM 36 - Steen and Danielson, aligned as heels, beat Styles and Zayn

WM 37 - In last year's main event, Steen loses to Zayn in the Cell

6. DREW McINTYRE d. KEVIN STEEN 

-McIntyre/Lashley/Gable joined with Roman at Survivor Series as the Holy Roman Empire, at the Rumble, following Steen's main event challenge for Zayn's WWF Title, HRE laid out Sami and Kevin, as part of the Roman/Sami program has been this feud - this is the last match before the intermission, so there's enough space between now and the tag titles for Lashley and Gable to play a role here from the outside - they do some sort of interference that ideally (1) puts the importance of HRE as a stable over and (2) doesn't overly detract from match quality, so it's important intereference but doesnt immediately lead to the finish.  It allows for the 3 non Roman members of HRE to end the first half of the show with their index fingers in the air, showing dominance.  

In Memorium

It's the annual video tribute to those the sport lost over the past year:

Daffney

New Jack

Paul Orndorff

Leatherface

Bobby Eaton

Dominic DeNucci

Angelo Mosca

Chris Youngblood

Del Wilkes

Don Kernodle

Blackjack Lanza

Jimmy Rave

Jody Hamilton

Reggie Parks

Corporal Kirchner

Ryan Sakoda

Razor Ramon Scott Hall

We go back the announce desk, we reset - the Octagon has had time to go up - and now the upper card

Every Brock Lesnar WM match:

WM 18 - Dark match, Brock wins the 3 way over Haas and Benjamin

WM 19 - Brock loses his WWF Title shot at Angle

WM 20 - Brock and Goldberg lose a weapons match to Rock/Foley

WM 29 - 9 years later, Brock's back, winning the WWF Title over Danielson in the main event

WM 30 - The first time Heyman turned on Brock it was to join Jack Swagger, Brock beats him here

WM 31 - Brock's in the main event, keeping the WWF Title in a No DQ match against Claudio

WM 32 - Brock's in the Elimination Chamber main event where Styles wins the WWF Title

WM 33 - Brock's the IC Champ now, he keeps over Jericho

WM 34 - Title v Title, the main event, Brock's the IC Champ, Nakamura the WWF Champ - Shinsuke comes out on top

WM 35 - Brock wins the Triple Crown as part of Shoot Nation, he, Angle, and Benjamin taking the tag belts from Hooligans

WM  36 - Another main event, Brock loses an attempt to take the WWF Title from Tyler Black, the most recent formation of GDI occurs here

7. OCTAGON MATCH: BROCK LESNAR d. MATT RIDDLE (w/HBK)

-Has age started to catch up to Brock - he came back after another long layoff at the Rumble but couldn't overcome Riddle, who tapped him out - perhaps not, babyface Brock announced if he couldn't beat Riddle here, he would leave the WWF - he beats Riddle here, and goes over decisively, multiple F5s, Riddle submits - Brock looks like a monster in this one, as unstoppable as he's ever been - the announce putting over hard that any indication that Brock has slipped was a mistake, he just brutalizes the former WWF Champ Riddle here, just leaves him a pile of dust.  

Postmatch, a long video package that sets up the 4 title matches (so the cage can come down); it's Gable and Lashley defending the tag belts for the Holy Roman Empire against the Usos; the Bullet Club is up for grabs along with the IC Title in the Ladder Match - who is the mystery 4th man competitor? Rousey, with the Dangerous Alliance, gets her shot at the woman who replaced her in the Horsewomen, Ripley - and in the main event, Sami Zayn defends the WWF Title against Roman Reigns.

Clip packge of every WWF Tag Team Title winner at WM, all holding belts.

WM 1 - Santana/Beefcake

WM 2-3 Hart Foundation (Bret/Davey w Anvil)

WM 4 - Rougeau Brothers (w Anvil)

WM 5 - Brainbusters (w Bobby)

WM 6 - Jannetty/Rude

WM 7 - Road Warriors

WM 8 - Money Inc

WM 9 - Steiner Brothers

WM 10 - Luger/Bigelow

WM 11 - Smoking Gunns

WM 12 - Steve Austin/Dustin Rhodes

WM 13 - Hart Foundation (Davey/Owen)

WM 14 - New Age Outlaws

WM 15 - Hardys

WM 16 - Hardys

WM 17 - Dudley Boys

WM 18 - Hart Foundation (Jericho/Storm)

WM 19 - HBK/HHH

WM 20 - Four Horsemen (Flair/Leviathan Batista)

WM 21 - Orton/Cena

WM 22 - Dead Men Walking (PAUL/Kane)

WM 23 - LWO (Chavo/Carlito)

WM 24 - WMD (Cena/Leviathan Batista)

WM 25 - Dead Men Walking (PAUL/Kane)

WM 26 - Young Money (Kingston/Killings)

WM 27 - Empire (Wade Barrett/Justin Gabriel)

WM 28 - Young Money

WM 29-31 The Shield (Tyler Black/Dean Ambrose w/ Langston)

WM 32 - Usos (Jimmy/Jey w Roman)

WM 33 - Trash (Pac/Claudio) and then Hardys

WM 34 - The Revival (w/Arn)

WM 35 - Shoot Nation (Lesnar/Angle/Benjamin)

WM 36 - Street Profits

WM 37 - Defiance (Orton/Crews/Priest)

8. WWF TAG TITLES: USOS d. HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE (GABLE/LASHLEY w/ McIntyre) 

The 115th WWF Tag Team Champs are the Usos, it's the 4th title reign for Jimmy and Jey, setting a new record for a continuous team.  The Usos were left behind when Roman formed his super group - Jey's angry, Jimmy's hurt - Roman saying they just weren't good enough to include.  But they go over here in an historic win.  

Every Entering IC Champ at WM, all entering w/ belts

WM 1 - Greg Valentine

WM 2 - Roddy Piper

WM 3-4 Randy Savage

WM 5 - Mr. Perfect

WM 6-7 Bret Hart

WM 8 - Randy Savage

WM 9 -10 Shawn Michaels

WM 11 - Owen Hart

WM 12 - Vader

WM 13 - Cactus Jack

WM 14 - Ken Shamrock

WM 15 - Steve Austin

WM 16 - Chris Jericho

WM 17 - Steve Regal

WM 18 - RVD

WM 19 - Rey Mysterio

WM 20 - Chavo Guerrero

WM 21 - Edge

WM 22 - Fit Finlay

WM 23 - Shane Helms

WM 24-25 MVP

WM 26 - Matt Sydal

WM 27 - Johnny Nitro

WM 28 - Sheamus

WM 30 - Sheamus

WM 31 - Luke Harper

WM 32 - AJ Styles

WM 33-34 Brock Lesnar

WM 35 - Prince Devitt

WM 36- Aleistar Black

WM 37 - Claudio Castagnoli

9. IC TITLE: LADDER MATCH: WINNER GETS THE BULLET CLUB: CODY RHODES d. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA/ AJ STYLES/ TYLER BLACK 

And it's time for the big pop.  For a year, the IC belt has been contested by the former Bullet Club in various combinations, the storyline has focused on the Bullet Club history, both WWF and then around the world - finally settling on if it was ever to return to WWF, the winner of this match would be the one who would be its leader.  Devitt's injury knocked him out of the match, so the 4th spot was a mystery opponent, the only provision being it had to be a current or former Bullet Club member from anywhere in the world.

So - the return from AEW of Cody Rhodes, Cody started as a protegee of the Undertaker, moved to Defiance where he became a tag champ with Orton. His WWF career stalled out and you know the rest of the story.  The announcers specifically talk about AEW, that not only was Rhodes a top wrestler with a rival promotion - he was one of the founders of that promotion, they talk about Rhodes as having his own reality program on another network - it's shocking - shocking I say - shocking that Cody Rhodes is here at Wrestlemania.

He goes over - there's a Bullet Club flag combined with the IC belt - he stands atop the ladder, holding both -- Cody Rhodes returns to WWF - Cody Rhodes is the 79th WWF Intercontinental Champion - and Cody Rhodes is the leader of the WWF Bullet Club!

Clips of every Women's Title match at WM

WM 32 - Sasha d Charlotte

WM 33 - Becky d. Sasha

WM 34 - Asuka d. Becky

WM 35 - Asuka d. Rousey

WM 36 - Asuka d. Baszler

WM 37 - Ripley d. Banks

10. WOMEN’S TITLE: RONDA ROUSEY (w/Heyman and Walter) d. RHEA RIPLEY (w/Baszler)

The 14th modern WWF Women's Champion is Ronda Rousey.  Rousey matches are intense, short, explosive - Rousey gives/takes heavy shots, the matches feel less like pro wrestling than like shoot fights, the goal from the moment she arrived, like Lesnar, is to have her not feel like everything else - she's a babyface in this run; her gravitational pull has made Heyman and Walter babyfaces also, you can see the attractiveness of this stable - Walter is a dominant champion in Dark Ride, he's run through the roster, Rousey kicks ass, and Heyman can sell the hell out of a match.  Ripley has been champion for a year, she took Rousey's spot in the Horsewomen, they left her laying - and she returned on fire - she goes over strong here -- Walter's got the Dark Ride belt - Rousey the Women's belt - it is the Dangerous Alliance, on top at Wrestlemania.  

Main event time.  

Clip package is the opening moment of each main event in WM history.

WM 1 - Ricky Steamboat v. Barry Windham

WM 2 - Ricky Steamboat v. Dynamite Kid

WM 3 - Dynamite Kid v. Ricky Steamboat

WM 4 - Ricky Steamboat v. Dynamite Kid

WM 5 - Randy Savage v. Bret Hart

WM 6 - Mr. Perfect v Randy Savage

WM 7 - Mr. Perfect v. Randy Savage

WM 8 - Ric Flair v. Bret Hart

WM 9 - Bret Hart v. Razor Ramon

WM 10 - Bret Hart v. Owen Hart

WM 11 - Shawn Michaels v. Bret Hart

WM 12 - Bret Hart v. Shawn Michaels

WM 13 - Bret Hart v. Steve Austin

WM 14 - Owen Hart v. Shawn Michaels

WM 15 - Owen Hart v. Cactus Jack

WM 16 - Cactus Jack v. Chris Benoit

WM 17 - Chris Benoit v. Kurt Angle

WM 18 - Kurt Angle v. Mr. Perfect

WM 19 - Kurt Angle v. Brock Lesnar

WM 20 - Chris Benoit v. Kurt Angle

WM 21 - Chris Benoit v. Eddy Guerrero

WM 22 - Chris Benoit v. Rey Mysterio

WM 23 - Matt Hardy v. Edge (first main event not for the WWF Title)

WM 24 - Shelton Benjamin v. CM Punk v. Johnny Nitro

WM 25 - Chris Jericho v. Shawn Michaels

WM 26 - Edge/Matt Hardy v. CM Punk/Christian

WM 27 - Edge v. CM Punk and then CM Punk v. Nick Nemeth (briefcase cash in)

WM 28 - Bryan Danielson v. Chris Jericho

WM 29 - Bryan Danielson v. Brock Lesnar

WM 30 - Bryan Danielson v. Claudio Castagnoli

WM 31 - Brock Lesnar v. Claudio Castagnoli

WM 32 - Kevin Steen v AJ Styles v. Dean Ambrose v. Brock Lesnar v Nick Nemeth v Kalisto

WM 33 - AJ Styles v. Austin Aries

WM 34 - Shinsuke Nakamura v. Brock Lesnar

WM 35 - Shinsuke Nakamura v. AJ Styles and then AJ Styles v Tyler Black (cash in)

WM 36 - Tyler Black v. Brock Lesnar

WM 37 - Sami Zayn v. Kevin Steen (not for WWF Title)

Roman's introduced first - comes to the ring - takes the mic - tells Wrestlemania to acknowledge him.

11. WWF CHAMPIONSHIP: ROMAN REIGNS (w/McIntyre/Lashley/Gable) d. SAMI ZAYN 

The 64th WWF Champion is Roman Reigns.  

There's enough outside interference to sell the value of the stable (one guy distracts official, another guy lays Zayn out) but its quick, doesn't directly lead to the finish (probably happens twice, the stable matters).  Reigns dominant run (this switch to God Mode) came during Covid, when he began this climb from the bottom/middle of the card; he absorbed the top members of the stables than rivaled the Usos (Roman had been with the Usos as a trio) he took the tag titles from the Usos and then forced their longtime rivals, the New Day, to disband.  Here, he declared war on the old ROH guys, they aren't real WWF, they should move on to Wednesdays with their buddies.  That's important to appreciate about the Holy Roman Empire - Roman is Head of the WWF Table against AEW, his guys are all WWF originals, all home grown, they've all been through Underground, that's intentional - what they aren't are former independent stars, they aren't ROH guys - the guys who have been largely at the top of the card for 15 years, the guys who now - have begun to move to AEW.  Reigns is a legacy - he's born/bred to lead the WWF out of the GDI (ROH) wilderness.

Zayn was El Generico, ultimate babyface, he was under the thumb of Kevin Steen, who had a really domineering presence as head of GDI - eventually, that group busted up, Generico's friends left the promotion, Steen stole Generico's mask, costing him his identity and sending Zayn into the wildnerness as a WWF referee - Zayn crawled his way out, won the WWF Title, vanquished Steen - but now, he falls to the Holy Roman Empire.

Postmatch, every Samoan you can imagine hits the ring (other than Dwayne, but if he's in town, great) thats really more of a babyface move and there is no turn coming for Roman (to the contrary, the cult like  features of HRE will start to get heavy storyline treatment) but for this one moment, given the historic nature of a member of the Anoa'i Family winning the WWF Title, the family gets their moment to celebrate - a ringful of Samoans putting their index fingers in the sky.  Jimmy and Jey come to the ramp, holding their belts - they have become the 4 time tag champs...but you can see a level of sadness (in Jimmy, Jey is angry) as the entire family celebrates with Roman.

The in ring celebration is the scene as the show ends.

Back in a month for some type of list, there's always something every month, has been for nearly two decades here without fail, in July the build for Summer Slam - the main event for Summer Slam (spoiler) Roman defending against Brock.