WrestleMania 40 Night 2 Review: Cody Finally Finishes The Story!

Sunday April 7th 2024 will forever be remembered as the night that WWE produced arguably the greatest WrestleMania in history and undisputedly the great main event and maybe WWE match of all time. WrestleMania 40 Night 2 delivered with amazing matches, surprise twists, engaging stories, a main event that was straight out of a marvel movie with the ultimate fairytale ending. On that note here’s Ben and Prince here for you to review night 2 of WrestleMania 40.

World Heavyweight Championship:Seth Rollins vs Drew McIntyre

Ben’s Review:

Drew hits the claymore right at the start of the match and nearly gets the 3 count. Drew dominates early on until Seth comes back with a pedigree to Drew on the outside and then nails the stomp for a near fall, Rollins reverses a claymore into another pedigree-stomp combination which again McIntyre kicks out. Drew hits the future shock DDT then hits the claymore again but Rollins kicks out again, Drew hits another Claymore but Seth somehow kicks out again, McIntyre then hits one final massive Claymore and finally puts Rollins away to win the World title.

Then after the match Drew insults CM Punk on commentary before Punk attacks Drew with his arm brace when suddenly Damian Priest runs down and jumps McIntyre. He cashes in his Money In The Bank briefcase then nails the South of Heaven chokeslam and pins Drew and Damian Priest leaves WrestleMania the new World Heavyweight Champion.

IMG Credit: Cageside Seats

Match Rating: 4.25/5

Prince’s Review:

It was a red-hot, great sprint of action that didn’t need to be a clinic like their previous matches. The wear and tear that ensued by Rollins last night played so well in the flow of the match and served nothing but a stellar moment of Drew winning the big gold in front of a packed audience until his head was spun all over Punk resulting in a whirlwind of moments. Punk went physical, blew off massive buzz, and helped to pencil in Priest’s cash-in successfully. I’m aware of the trolls and dejections set forward, but Priest is one of the top prospects under Hunter’s regime during the Black & Gold days of NXT and I hope the fans remember his capability.

Match Rating [7/10]

IMG Credit: Latin Post

Philadelphia Street Fight: The Final Testament vs Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits

Bubba Ray Dudley was special guest referee, a fun brawl with big weapon spots throughout, a chaotic set of action, B-Fab and Scarlett both crash through a table, Kross confronts Bubba who then instructs the Babyfaces to “Get the tables” Montez hits his frog splash on Kross through the table and Lashley gets the pin.

Match Rating: 3/5

Prince’s Review:

This had no reason to pop a surprise commentator in Snoop Dogg and a special referee in Bubba Ray! Glad to see both, ending up elevating the match higher than before. Even though the action was decent at best and lightyears below a set of Philly street fights, this was a fun way to pit these stars in the card. The small interaction between Scarlett and B-Fab worked well, and the fun infuse of the ‘What’s Up? ‘ moment was nice. Lashley’s team taking the win was expected, but it jeopardizes the future of Final Testament, especially the returning AOP.

Match Rating [5/10]

LA Knight vs AJ Styles

A fight from the get go feeling on the bad blood between the two that’s built since Styles returned, Knight with a huge tilt-the-world DDT, Styles responds with aggressive ground action and takes control, Knight then delivers a comeback with a German superplex from the top rope. Styles backdrops Knight on the concrete floor outside then goes for the 450 splash but Knight gets the knees up, AJ goes for the phenomenal forearm but Knight counters into the BFT and get the win.

Match Rating: 3.5/5

Prince’s Review:

Knight vs. Styles: Out of the match card combining both nights, the build for this match was underrated because of the bait in LA’s path to gold. But it’s against one of the best to embrace the squared circle, AJ Styles, and who would refuse a ‘Mania program with him? These guys kicked in a personal touch, giving an intense feel throughout the battle. From the entrances to the urgency in executing the moves, magic was presented! Knight’s victory was expected, and I’m glad the aura didn’t fall. Looking up and high, it’s time to usher with everybody saying, L A Knight! Yeah!

Match Rating [8/10]

IMG Credit: WhatCulture

Triple Threat Match For The United States Championship: Logan Paul vs Kevin Owens vs Randy Orton

Orton and Owens double team on Logan for most of the opening of the match before Paul hits a double buckshot lariat and begins to take control, Paul then nails a combo of a swanton bomb on Owens and then straight into a frog splash on Orton, Orton then hits the double elevated DDT, Owens hits the moonsault on Paul from the top rope. Orton hits the RKO but Owens kicks out, Paul nails Orton with the brass knuckles but Randy kicks out, Randy goes for the punt but the Prime bottle mascot pulls Paul out of the ring who turns out to be streamer iShowSpeed who suffers an RKO on the announce table. Owens goes for the pop-up powerbomb and Orton reverses it in mid-air for the RKO but Logan throws out Orton and hits the frog splash on Owens to win and retain the championship.

Match Rating: 4.25/5

IMG Credit: Fox News

Prince’s Review:

The best title defense for Logan! Not only did he share the ring with two absolute beasts of this field, but developed a fantastic ounce of chemistry with them. Owens and Orton brought great banter and switched to a fun, competitive duel in style. The intense pace meshed well with the spots called on, especially the ridiculous reveal of Speed behind the PRIME mascot. Trust me, that wasn’t on my wrestling bingo of this year. It was a fun moment between him and Orton, eventually leading to a fantastic finish in favor of Logan. His first ‘Mania as a champ and getting a huge win like this meant more than the other pathways of an end.

Match Rating [8/10]

IMG Credit: USA Today

WWE Women’s Championship: IYO Sky vs Bayley

IYO works on Bayley’s leg early on to slow her down, IYO cuts off Bayley’s offence at every turn because of her injured knee, Bayley goes for the elbow, IYO reverses into the crossface. Bayley hits the Bayley-to-Belly suplex but IYO kicks out, IYO hits the moonsault but Bayley kicks out. IYO goes for the moonsault again but Bayley moves out of the way and hits the suplex and hits the elbow and then the Rose Plant to win the Women’s Championship.

Match Rating 4.5/5

IMG Credit: Wrestletalk

Prince’s Review:

After a close margin of two years, the story of Bayley and Damage CTRL reached its end convincingly. The ladies worked frantically with a steady arc of Iyo targeting Bayley’s knee and working more. Bayley replied in her wacky, dexterous style and never backed down. The chemistry was amazing, the emotions were at their peak, the fans were fantabulously pro-Bayley, and the final stretch was beautiful. After being selfless for so many years and backing up the pandemic era as one of the underrated champions, Bayley deserves this crowning more than anything else. I’m super happy that it happened via a great clinic of a match.

Match Rating [9/10]

IMG Credit: Wrestling Inc

Undisputed WWE Universal Championship:Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes

Roman takes charge early whipping Cody with a kendo stick, they brawl to the outside and into the crowd, Roman goes for a suplex on the outside but Cody reverses into one of his own, Reigns reverses the disaster kick into a powerbomb, Roman dominates the middle portion of the match then Rhodes begins his comeback hits the disaster kick, Roman fights back and hits the Cross Rhodes on Cody but Cody kicks out. Rhodes stings Reigns with the left jabs before landing the Boinic elbow, Reigns low blows Rhodes and powerbombs Cody through the table and then hits the Superman Punch but Cody kicks at 2. Cody hits Roman with a spear but that wasn’t enough, Cody goes for the Cross Rhodes but Jimmy Uso runs-in and superkicks Cody, Jey Uso runs down and spears Jimmy off the stage, Roman nails the spear but Cody kicks out. Cody goes for Cross Rhodes again but Solo Sikoa spikes him to save Reigns, Sikoa and Reigns hit the spike/spear combo but Rhodes kicks out again. John Cena runs in and attacks Sikoa, the hits the AA on Roman in the ring then AA’s Solo through the announce table. The Rock comes out to attack Cena with a Rock Bottom, Rock. goes to attack Rhodes but then the Shield music hits, Rollins tries to help but gets Superman Punched by Reigns. Cody seems helpless but then… Gong! Undertaker appears and chokeslams The Rock. Roman is going to hit Cody with the chair but he glances across at Seth and the flashback to the breakup of the Shield 10 years ago, he can’t let go of the past and smashes Rollins in the back with the chair just as Rollins did to him that fateful night in June 2014. Roman goes for one final spear but Rhodes see it coming, Cody finally hits the, first one, then the second one and then after forever hits the third and final Cross Rhodes and covers Roman Reigns, 1… 2… 3! Cody Rhodes finishes the story and finally wins the Undisputed WWE Championship!

Match Rating: 5/5

Prince’s Review:

It would be best to take a simple decision and weave it into something magical. That happened here in this high-stakes match, culminating in one of the best stories in modern wrestling history. After Saturday’s turmoil, these two weren’t meant to deliver a spectacle like last year. Still, the intertwined confrontations upped the ante in the form of a massively positive overbooking move. Jey/Jimmy getting crazier than their actual battle, Cena stepping up to Sikoa for revenge, Rock/Cena teasing Thrice in a Lifetime (jokingly), and to cap off, THE UNDERTAKER folding The Rock! Even, Seth’s loyalty of being a true shield to Cody pissed off Roman like how he felt back in the day – man! It hit differently and cemented the conclusion in style.

Match Rating [10/10]

Final Thoughts:

What a night! After an indifferent Saturday that seem like a set up plot more than a wrestling show, Sunday was the full cinematic movie that lived up to being not just the biggest show of the year, but arguably the biggest of all time. A show of amazing matches, surprising twists, great action and the greatest story in pro wrestling delivered the most satisfying conclusion in the best WrestleMania main event in history. After the agony and questions in looking back to the ending last year, all of us wondering if they’d blown the chance to make something special, they’ve proved everyone wrong and in Cody Rhodes they have the most mega babyface in the 21st century and absolutely the man to replace John Cena as the face of WWE. What’s more, the exciting thing is it’s only the beginning, there are so many new stories to come now and many that have brand new chapters that will be developed and grown over the next months and even the next year, especially with Cody, after all, as a wise man once told us a year ago… The story never ends.

Overall Rating: 5/5