WWE WrestleMania 39: Night 1 Review - April 1, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

United States Champion Austin Theory def. John Cena

This was a good match, but I was surprised how "mid" (to steal a word from MJF) it ended up being. There simply wasn't anything special about it whatsoever, and that's a shame considering I was looking forward to this match when it was originally teased a while ago. And then Cena's verbal burial of Theory happening and it's been weird since then. Did Theory's win over Cena here make up for that? In my opinion, no, if only because he didn't go over strong whatsoever, but at least the result was what it needed to be. It was an average outing and easily Cena's least special in several years.

The Street Profits def. Alpha Academy, The Viking Raiders, and Ricochet & Braun Strowman in a WrestleMania Showcase Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match

The WrestleMania Showcase matches not having any stakes still boggles my mind, but this was a ton of fun and way better than it had any right to be considering how quickly this was put together for the show. Then again, I shouldn't be shocked based on the level of talent involved. Everyone had their time to shine and they certainly maximized their minutes. Street Profits have to get a tag title shot coming out of this, right?

Seth "Freakin" Rollins def. Logan Paul

Amazingly, this was the match I thought would be the best of the night, and it wound up being fourth behind the last three (not counting Pat McAfee vs. The Miz). That isn't to say it fell short of my expectations because it definitely didn't, but that's just to say the other matches were a bit better. Nonetheless, this was a highly enjoyable affair with Rollins and Paul having the terrific chemistry I figured they would. Paul has gotten the upper hand over Rollins at almost every turn since the Royal Rumble, so Rollins winning here was the correct call.

Trish Stratus and WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Becky Lynch and Lita def. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY)

The build to this bout suffered from not having much to offer despite the star power involved. Damage CTRL being so horribly booked hardly helped, and that's actually why I predicted them to win here (possibly with a Stratus heel turn factoring into the finish). How dumb of me to think that. I have no clue how Damage CTRL can be possibly salvaged after this. It's time to pull the plug. The match itself was super solid as they worked a consistent pace to keep the audience engaged and everyone worked hard.

Rey Mysterio def. Dominik Mysterio

Everything about this was just awesome. From the entrances to the emotion to the crowd reactions, this was such a blast. It's wild to think that I had no interest in anything the Mysterios were doing at the end of last summer, and yet they've had one of the best rivalries in recent memories. They played their roles remarkably well here and had a very entertaining encounter. Yes, there was plenty of outside interference and shenanigans, but it all made sense. I'm also not mad Rey went over because it's clear this feud isn't over yet. Rey and Bad Bunny vs. Dominik and Damian Priest at Backlash in Puerto Rico books itself.

Rhea Ripley def. Charlotte Flair to Win the SmackDown Women's Championship

There was a lot of chatter among fans coming into Night 1 whether this should main event (as had been strongly implied by the company) or the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship match. Ultimately, WWE made the right choice, but this could have easily gone on last and I wouldn't have complained. That's how excellent this encounter was, as we all should have expected based on their chemistry in the past (despite the feud feeling flat prior to the pay-per-view). I think the fact they probably had a chip on their shoulder from not main-eventing only added to their determination to steal the show. This was stellar stuff and those nearfalls down the stretch had everyone on the edge of their seat. I'm happy they were finally able to properly finish their story (thanks, Cody).

Pat McAfee def. The Miz

Miz and Snoop Dogg were in the ring when McAfee emerged for an impromptu match with Miz. We haven't seen McAfee since he returned to do commentary at the Royal Rumble and there was no word on when he'd be back, so this was a pleasant surprise. He even received help from his NFL pal George Kittle. Of course, this was silly stuff, but I'm actually glad it happened to provide a bit of a buffer between the women's match and the main event.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens def. The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship

What an absolute masterclass in storytelling. This was the main event many of us wanted for Night 1 and it absolutely lived up to the hype. Mind you, this was a story they had been telling for nearly a year and they paid it off perfectly. Not only was the action exceptional, but there were a ton of callbacks and the crowd was incredibly invested. This was everything I hoped it would be and then some. It's super cool that the tag team titles were defended in the main event of WrestleMania for the first time ever and it didn't feel forced in the slightest. This was a wonderful way of capping off an amazing evening.

Overall Show

This will go down as one of the greatest nights of WrestleMania ever. I know that sounds like an exaggeration, but regardless of what Night 2 has in store, this was just an outstanding event from start to finish. I truly do not have any complaints. Everything was really well paced and the weakest match on the card ended up being Cena vs. Theory, and even that wasn't bad by any stretch. To say WWE hit a home run with this show would be an understatement.

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