WWE WrestleMania 39 is in the books and will go down as one of the most memorable in the event’s history. We’ll now grade each match across both nights.
Every year, WWE hosts it’s WrestleMania event, which is considered to be the most important show in professional wrestling. Sometimes, they strike gold, other times, not so much. But this year, WWE was looking to produce a show worthy of a blockbuster Hollywood film.
For the most part they nailed it. But then, much like some films that are just about ready to be considered to be a masterpiece…the ending was fumbled and left you throwing up your hands asking aloud “that’s it?” WWE did just that, and it happened in the main event.
The Undisputed WWE Universal championship match was the main event of Night 2, as Roman Reigns looked to defend against Cody Rhodes. This was a fantastic match, with both having fans inside SoFi Stadium on the edge of their seats. Solo Sikoa was thrown out of the match by the official, and later on, after the Usos and Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens intefered. But, Sikoa returned, hit Rhodes with a Samoan Spike, allowing Reigns to hit a spear to get the win to retain his championship.
It was a fantastic match, on a two-night event that had numerous incredible bouts, but the ending was a dud. Deflating.
WWE had their chance in September to put the title on Drew McIntyre in the United Kingdom at Clash at the Castle. But they opted against it. Rhodes became one of the top good guys in WWE and was possibly the best option to defeat Reigns. And WWE opted against it.
Putting that aside, this was still an incredible show that wrestling fans and casual viewers should look back on to watch. We will now go through each match and assign grades to them.
WWE WrestleMania 39 Night 1 grades
United States Championship: Austin Theory (c) vs. John Cena
Austin Theory needed to win this match to help elevate him into a legitimate main event star. Facing off against John Cena, on paper, would have helped them with that. The thing is, the match overall was basic, and rather bland. To make matters worse, Theory didn’t look strong with the win. Cena had him visually submitting to the STF, but the referee was knocked down. So, Theory hit Cena with a low blow, then one A-Town Down to get the win. A disappointing match to open up the show.
Match Grade: D
Fatal 4-Way Tag Team WrestleMania Showcase match: Braun Strowman and Ricochet vs. The Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) vs. The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar)
This match should have opened up WrestleMania 39. It was a fun, chaotic match with memorable spots. Chad Gable hitting the 6-foot-8, 344-pound Braun Strowman with a rolling German Suplex. A wicked Tower of Doom Spot. Angelo Dawkins hitting Strowman with a vicious Pounce at ringside. Ricochet hitting a springboard Shooting Star Press outside the ring. The Street Profits picked up the win, and should be getting a Undisputed WWE Tag Team championship match.
Match Grade: B+
Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul
Logan Paul once again showed that he was destined for professional wrestling. It certainly helps that he got to face off against one of the top wrestlers in the game in Seth Rollins. Paul had fellow social media personality KSI (dressed in a Prime Hydration drink costume) attempting to help him put Rollins through an announce table, but the former multi-time world champion outsmarted them in entertaining fashion. Rollins pulled KSI onto the announce table just as Paul jumped off the top rope for a Frog Splash. Rollins was able to kick out of a Go to Sleep and Frog Splash, then countered a cross-ring dropkick attempt by Paul with a midair superkick, following it up with a Curb Stomp to pick up the win. A very fun match, as expected.
Match Grade: B+
Becky Lynch, Lita and Trish Stratus vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky)
Another fun match, which saw Damage CTRL really put up a fight against Becky Lynch and WWE Hall of Famers Lita and Trish Stratus. Despite the impressive effort, Damage CTRL once again failed to win a big match on a premium live event. Really felt like they were due here. Putting that aside, it was a really good match. Stratus shined in the match.
Match Grade: B
Rey Mysterio vs. Domink Mysterio
Dominik Mysterio right here has shown that he can be a legitimate star. He has embraced his role as a despicable, bratty heel when facing his father, Rey, and it really garnered a visceral reaction from the crowd. It certainly helped that he threw a drink in the face of his little sister, Aalyah, who was sitting ringside next to their mom, Angie. Dominik had some help from his Judgment Day friends in Finn Balor and Damian Priest, but they were fended off by the newly formed Latino World Order (LWO) of Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz Del Toro). Dominik attempted to hit Rey with a steel chain, but rapper Bad Bunny, who was sitting at ringside, ripped it out of his hands. That allowed Rey to hit a 619 and a Frog Splash to pick up the win over his son. This feud is far from over, but this was a great, story-driven match.
Match Grade: A
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
It truly is a shame that the build to Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley wasn’t that great, because this would have gone down as one of the best main event matches in WrestleMania history had it been scheduled to go on last. Ripley unleashed some nasty-looking moves, such as a German Suplex that threw Flair on her face, to Flair countering a Riptide into a tornado DDT, to the top-rope German Suplex by Ripley. Yet, Flair showed how difficult it is to defeat her in a match. Ultimately, it was Ripley who got the win, after slamming Flair’s face into the top of the ring post, and hit a top rope Riptide to pick up the victory and the SmackDown Women’s title. A tremendous match.
Match Grade: A+
Pat McAfee vs. The Miz
This was an impromptu match made before the main event. The Miz claimed that no one responded to his open challenge for WrestleMania. That is when former NFL punter and SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee approached the ring to answer it. The Miz tried to back out, but co-host Snoop Dogg made it official. The Miz tried to escape, but San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle stopped him with a huge clothesline. McAfee got the win with a punt. The match was what it was. Nothing special.
Match Grade: D
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) vs. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens
The Sami Zayn-Bloodline story has reached its conclusion, seemingly. This was a tremendous tag team match that not only featured great wrestling, but some fantastic storytelling. Zayn was getting pummeled with superkicks by the Usos, but he showed off his resiliency each time, even though it looked like he was knocked out cold. Zayn even kicked out of the 1D, which the commentary reminded the viewing audience that no one had kicked out of that finishing move by the Usos. Ultimately, Zayn and Owens got the better of the Usos, as Owens knocked Jimmy out of the ring, while Zayn hit three Helluva Kicks to pick up the win and to end the Usos’ 622-day reign as Tag Team champions.
Match Grade: A+
WWE WrestleMania 39 Night 2 grades
Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
This is exactly the kind of match you expected it to be, and it was still fun. Omos threw Brock Lesnar around like a rag doll, hitting body slams and even a chokeslam. But, Lesnar was able to hit some German Suplexes on Omos, and eventually was able to lift up the 7-foot-3, 403-pounder on his shoulders and hit the F-5 for the win. A quick, fun match.
Match Grade: C+
Fatal Four-Way Tag Team WrestleMania Showcase match: Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler vs. Natalya and Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville
There were some cool spots in this match, such as Raquel Rodriguez powerbombing Liv Morgan to the rest of the competitors standing outside the ring, and Natalya placing Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green in a sharpshooter. The match ended after Ronda Rousey, who is dealing with an injury, put Shotzi in an armbar to get the submission win. The match was what it was.
Match Grade: C-
Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre
Can we give an A++? Well, we’ll just say this was an easy A+ match, as Gunther, Sheamus, and Drew McIntyre pummeled and beat each other. There were plenty of chops, forearm shots, powerbombs, knees, and more. This may go down as genuinely one of the best Intercontinental championship matches in history. Gunther was able to retain after hitting a splash on both McIntyre and Sheamus, and hit powerbombs on both to pick up the victory to continue his lengthy reign.
Match Grade: A+
Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka
Another great match involving Bianca Belair on the “Grandest Stage of Them All,” as she makes a case for Ms. WrestleMania. While the build to Belair vs. Asuka wasn’t the greatest, you knew that they would still have a fantastic match. There were spots like Belair hitting a powerbomb on Asuka at ringside, to Asuka countering a KOD into the Asuka-Lock, then the finish with Belair powering out of that move to hit the KOD to get the win.
Match Grade: A
Snoop Dogg vs. The Miz
This match was originally supposed to be The Miz facing a returning Shane McMahon. However, McMahon got injured on a leapfrog, which was later revealed to be a torn quad. So, Snoop Dogg punched the Miz twice, hit a People’s Elbow, and got the win. No grade, considering the circumstances.
Match Grade: No Grade
Hell in a Cell match: Edge vs. “The Demon” Finn Balor
This match was vicious, as you would expect out of a heated rivalry like Edge vs. Balor. There were some nasty spots, like Edge hurling a ladder at Balor, which struck him in the head. But then, there was Balor, standing atop an elevated platform inside the cell, attempting a Coup De Grace on Edge on a table, but crashed through it legs first after “The Rated R Superstar” moved. Edge picked up the win after a Con-Chair-To.
Match Grade: B
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
As we touched on before, Reigns vs. Rhodes put on a hell of a slugfest. As is the case in every Reigns match, he has the fans in the palm of his hands with near falls, kicking out at 2.99999 seconds. But there were portions where it looked like Rhodes was legitimately going to get the win to end Reigns’ reign. However, Sikoa, who was thrown out of the match earlier, returned, hit the Samoa Spike to set up Reigns’ winning spear.
Again a great match, but with a very lackluster ending. This will surely lead to a rematch between Reigns and Rhodes. But it’s now a matter of figuring out when that will happen.
Match Grade: A
Ending Grade: F
Even with the ending of the second night, WrestleMania 39 is definitely a show that you should watch back. The SmackDown Women’s championship, the Intercontinental championship, and the Undisputed WWE Tag Team championships were tied for matches of the entire event, and you should definitely try to view if you hadn’t already.
WrestleMania 39 Overall Grade: A-
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