WWE WrestleMania 38: Night 2 Review - April 3, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Triple H Welcomed the World to WrestleMania

​Well, this was a pleasant surprise. I know Triple H made a quick cameo at NXT Stand & Deliver for Tommaso Ciampa's sendoff, but this was the first formal appearance he's made in front of fans since 2019 I believe and it was a cool moment, especially coming off all the health issues he's had lately. Some fans will complain about his drawn-out entrance being a waste of time and I can't completely blame those people, but I'm biased because I was there in attendance and I thought it was a nice way to open the evening.

Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro def. Alpha Academy and The Street Profits in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match

Much like with Night 1, a tag team title match is not what I expected to start the show (as far as matches go), but I'm not complaining. RK-Bro and Alpha Academy have been working well together since the start of the year and throwing Street Profits into the mix only added to my enjoyment of the match. This was nicely paced and it helped that any of the three teams could have won. RK-Bro remain one of the most popular acts in all of WWE currently, so I'm happy their reign isn't over yet. WWE shouldn't consider splitting them up any time soon. The post-match angle with Gable Steveson getting physical with Chad Gable was well done. I'm sure it sets up Gable to be, uh, Gable's first opponent when he eventually debuts. Speaking of which, what are the odds WWE changes Chad Gable's name before then?

Bobby Lashley def. Omos

This came together so quickly on last Monday's Raw that it was likely difficult for a majority of people to care, but they worked a fairly basic bout and it didn't overstay its welcome. Lashley did his best to work around Omos' limitations and the crowd was completely behind him as a babyface. I wasn't expecting Lashley to win, but I'm happy he did. Omos isn't ready for any sort of serious singles push yet. Interestingly, MVP was nowhere to be found at ringside.

Johnny Knoxville def. Sami Zayn in an Anything Goes Match

For a feud a lot of people didn't have high hopes for when it started at the onset of the year, Zayn vs. Knoxville turned out to be a blast, and the same can be said about the match itself. Giving it the Anything Goes stipulation was the smartest thing they could have done as it allowed them to do all of the stupid stuff they did and get the rest of the Jackass crew involved. I say "stupid" but it was ridiculous in the best way possible. This might just have been my favorite matchup of the night. Props to these two for producing such a spectacle.

Sasha Banks and Naomi def. Queen Zelina & Carmella, Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan, and Natalya & Shayna Baszler in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match to Win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

For as little as I care about the women's tag titles (due to how badly they've been booked in the last three years), I knew this would deliver from an in-ring standpoint because of the talent involved. It wasn't the smoothest of encounters at certain points, but it was fun to follow and it had its moments. Banks and Naomi winning was so obvious that I thought they may swerve the fans by putting another team over, but it was the right result. Most importantly, Banks' losing streak at WrestleMania is officially no more.

Edge def. AJ Styles

​This was my most anticipated match of Night 2 and I'm sure I wasn't the only one. It ended up being one of the better bouts of the night yet not on the level of what I know they're capable of. The slow start was partially the reason for that and it never felt like they hit the gear I thought they would. Again, though, this was very good. I've stayed away from rumors all weekend, so Damian Priest popping up to aid Edge to victory was something I certainly didn't see coming. I'm excited to see what sort of stable they'll build.

Sheamus and Ridge Holland def. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)

I feel really bad for these four. First, they had their match cut from Night 1 of 'Mania. Then, they were added to Night 2, only to be given roughly 90 seconds. I mean, why bother at that point? That isn't to say I've been super invested in this feud and was hoping for a 15-minute classic, but they deserve better. This was total throwaway with the heels winning quickly and decisively. If nothing else, Kingston and Woods got to pay homage to Big E with their gear, so there was that.

Pat McAfee def. Austin Theory; Mr. McMahon def. McAfee

McAfee vs. Theory was in the same vein as Zayn vs. McAfee in that it was a match that was way better than it had any right to be. Theory is unquestionably a star on the rise who will have many more 'Mania matches in his future if he can stay on the right track, while McAfee is a natural in every way. He doesn't need to be an active competitor by any means (especially since he has a knack for commentating), but hopefully they put him in the ring more often. The crowd was hot for their match, though I don't know I would've had McAfee win clean. McMahon then getting in the ring and ordering an impromptu match with McAfee only to beat him was a total mess, but "Stone Cold" Steve Austin got things back on track by showing up for the second straight night and laying everyone out with Stunners. This was so bad it was good and the audience ate up that interaction between Austin and McMahon. All of this felt like it lasted forever, but they made it worthwhile.

Universal Champion Roman Reigns def. Brock Lesnar in a Winner Takes All Championship Unification Match to Win the WWE Championship and Become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion

The latest incarnation of this rivalry between Reigns and Lesnar has been going on since SummerSlam, which was almost eight months ago. To the company's credit, they've done an excellent job of keeping things interesting and both belts being on the line for this (when they didn't have to be and arguably shouldn't have been, in my opinion) gave this a big-fight feel. That said, this was an underwhelming main event. While not exactly a bad bout, I expected more. I mean, for this to end in roughly 12 minutes on a single spear was a bit of a letdown. What we got was fine, but needless to say, this didn't live up to the hype as "the greatest WrestleMania main event of all-time."

Overall Show

As expected, Night 2 wasn't able to measure up to Night 1, but it was still a solid, entertaining event on the whole. The main event ending in anticlimactic fashion was disappointing, but pretty much everything leading up to that delivered in one way or another. Granted, nothing reached that truly "special" level that several things from Night 1 did, but again, I enjoyed myself and there was plenty of positive stuff to make this a thumbs-up pay-per-view. Props to WWE for hitting it out of the park with WrestleMania this year as it was arguably the strongest installment they've done in the last decade.

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