John Cena wins 17!!! - WrestleMania 41 Sunday Review

WrestleMania Sunday delivered in many areas, with great in-ring action, a shock surprise, a memorable return, and history being made. Although the Travis Scott ending fell flat, the second night of The Showcase of the Immortals fulfilled many expectations.

Iyo Sky Def. Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley to retain the Women's World Championship.

In the first match of the night, the much-anticipated triple-threat match between Champion Iyo Sky, Elimination Chamber winner Bianca Belair and "The Eradicator" Rhea Ripley shone bright. It became arguably the best women's match in WrestleMania history. Sky made her entrance first followed by Bianca Belair who was met with a chorus of boos from the crowd in Las Vegas. A Belair heel turn may benefit her character due to the crowd reactions she has been getting since the European tour. Ripley made her entrance, and the three got things underway.

"The Genius of the Sky" was again being looked over by her opponents, as both Ripley and Belair took her out, whipping Sky into the barricade. The three women expertly performed moves which shocked the crowd, including Sky hitting a double blockbuster. A great sequence followed with Bianca Belair performing a 450 splash in Sky, before Ripley hit a Riptide for a near fall. Ripley looked unstable when Belair kicked out, showing her character needs the Championship to feel normal.

"The EST" came close to winning her 4th Women's Championship, when Sky went for the Over the Moonsault, Ripley countered by putting her legs up, and she fell perfectly into Belair, who nailed the K.O.D for a close near fall. In a thrilling conclusion, Bianca Belair executed the K.O.D. on Rhea Ripley, but her pin was broken up by Iyo Sky, who delivered the Over the Moonsault and pinned Belair to retain the title.

I thought this match was a very good showcase for all three women. Iyo Sky winning was the best decision with the story they were telling, and although Belair lost her WrestleMania winning streak, it came at the perfect cost.

Drew McIntyre Def. Damian Priest in a Sin City Street Fight

"The Scottish Warrior" Drew McIntyre and "The Archer of Infamy" Damian Priest went to was in a Sin City Street Fight. Although I was holding the match to the standards of Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn at Elimination Chamber, it held up, and the crowd came alive in the Allegiant Stadium. McIntyre was the next superstar who was a victim of the many sponsorships WWE had during the weekend, as he made his entrance with a full Doom theme, even including a statue from the game. Damian Priest had a man playing the guitar riff in his theme song as he made his entrance in a much cooler way.

The two took little time getting weapons, as both men felt a set of steel steps being thrown at their heads. Drew again took the time to grab his phone off someone in the crowd and tweet during the match with the caption "Board at Work Again. LOL". McIntyre placed a chair over Priest's head and lined up a Claymore, but Priest countered into a South of Heaven Chokeslam for a close near fall. The match spiralled into chaos, as McIntyre hit a Future Shock DDT on steel steps, before Priest hit a Razor's Edge, which sent "The Scottish Warrior crashing through a table.

The ending would come when Priest went for his homage to the Undertaker with a version of Old School, but McIntyre pushed him off the top rope, which sent him crashing through a stack of tables at ringside. McIntyre leaned a chair on the turnbuckle and Claymored Priest, whose head ricocheted off the chair in a great spot. McIntyre got his arm raised and fantastically won the match.

Dominik Mysterio Def. Bron Breakker, Finn Balor and Penta to win the Intercontinental Championship.

In a top-three match of the weekend, Bron Breakker put his Intercontinental Championship on the line in a fatal-4-way match against Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio and Penta. Mysterio was getting cheers and chants from the 63,000 in Las Vegas, as he was the crowd favourite. The match from start to finish was a fast-paced mess, with all men gelling together really well. Penta showcased his daredevil style as he hit a moonsault dive over the top rope onto the Judgement Day members down below.

It didn't take long for Carlito to make his presence known, as he appeared at ringside and even broke up Penta's pin on Mysterio after a Mexican Destroyer. The spot we were all waiting for happened when Finn Balor had his back turned, and Dominik Mysterio kicked him against the ropes and attempted a 619. However, Balor caught him and beat down Mysterio, the two may come to blows as early as the Raw after Mania. Bron Breakker amazed the crowd as he jumped from one announce table to another, spearing Carlito through one.

Back in the ring, Finn Balor hit the shotgun dropkick and a Coupe De Grace on Breakker and looked to have the match won, but Mysterio hit a Frog Splash from out of nowhere. Mysterio pinned Balor to win the Intercontinental Championship, and the crowd was electric as Dom ran back in the ring and posed with his newly won title.

This was a match where anyone could have won, and the fans would have been satisfied. But Dominik Mysterio winning the title is great as it will elevate his character to new heights, and hopefully, he can go down a pathway that is similar to Eddie Guerrero. I look forward to seeing what they will do on Raw with the impending implosion of the Judgement Day.

Randy Orton Def. Joe Hendry.

Say his name and he appears!!! Randy Orton's WrestleMania open challenge was answered by the TNA World Champion, Joe Hendry. Las Vegas erupted when Hendry's theme song played, as no one thought this would be Orton's opponent. With the unfortunate news of Kevin Owens being forced to pull out of this match, the commentary team of Michael Cole, Pat McAfee and Wade Barrett put over Hendry by saying no one in the locker room wants to face this version of Orton.

The match was nothing special as Orton hit his signature offence and Hendry got in a few slams, and the camera zoomed in on his face when he did his rival turn. But as he did, Randy Orton rko'd him out of nowhere to win the match in under five minutes. Orton gave him his flowers after the bell, even lifting his arm as the crowd cheered, but he delivered another RKO before doing his version of Hendry's spin.

The match itself was forgettable; however, the moment, the crowd pop and the views it has online, the segment was everything that it needed to be in a very shocking and pleasing moment.

Logan Paul Def. AJ Styles.

In one of the more underwhelming matches of the event, "The Maverick" Logan Paul took on "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles. Now, the match itself was technically great, but in a Logan Paul match, you expect that big viral moment, and they never happened. Paul made his entrance by vlogging instead of being on the normal camera, it was a fun and different way to do it. Styles looked like a veteran who just meant business, and he started strong, trapping Paul in the ring apron and connecting with shots.

The camera that "The Maverick" had brought to the ring turned out to be a drone as it did a 360 shot of the stadium, before Paul connected with a Frog Splash for a near fall. He also hit a Styles Clash, which was a fun spot, but Styles recovered and hit one of his own for another near fall. Paul's manager, Jeff, sneaked to the ring in an attempt to throw a set of brass knuckles in the ring, but he was stopped by Karrion Kross, who got a big cheer from the crowd.

Styles came out of the ring to chase Jeff away before Kross told him to use the knuckles and win the match for the wrestlers. However, Styles threw the knuckles away and puched Kross, but that would be his downfall as when he got back in the ring he was met with a stiff right hand and a Paulverizer as Logan Paul picked up the win.

I thought it was a bit odd for AJ Styles not to win as he doesn't have many WrestleMania matches left, it is also weird to say that Styles has had matches at The Show of Shows against: Shinsuke Namakura, Randy Orton, Edge, Chris Jericho and now Logan Paul, but his best match his still somehow Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 33.

Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria Def. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez to win the Women's Tag Team Championships.

After WWE pulled Bayley out of the match with a kayfabe injury, Becky Lynch made her return after a year-long absence to team with her fellow Irishwoman Lyra Valkyria. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez did well to tease the audience by isolating the Women's Intercontinental Champion as they built to that Becky hot tag.

When Lynch finally tagged in, the crowd erupted as the match opened up. Valkyria took out Rodriguez as Lynch hit Morgan with the Manhandle Slam for the win. Valkyria became a double champion, and Lynch's return is another feel-good moment on this show. I think, although Lynch is a bigger star, it's annoying to see how they have treated Bayley, as I would have rather had her not in the WrestleMania plans rather than just dropping her straight away. I also think Liv Morgan deserves better, as she has been the MVP of the women's division over the past year, and here she is losing in ten minutes in a filler match.

John Cena Def. Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Championship.

The main event of Night 2 was Cody Rhodes defending his WWE Championship against John Cena, who was looking to win his 17th world championship in his farewell tour. No one thought this would be the best in-ring match of the weekend, but the theories of an appearance from The Rock or Seth Rollins were looming. Cena made his entrance with an all black theme, with only his name on the stage and no colours. Rhodes was the exact opposite, with the red, white and blue colours shining bright and fireworks going off. He was wearing a mask similar to last year, which opened up like an Iron Man mask as well.

What was interesting was that no matter what he did, the crowd cheered Cena and booed Rhodes. I feel this hindered the match as John Cena tried his best to be a heel, but the crowd was having none of it. Rhodes had Cena's number, as he outwrestled him, including hitting a Cody Cutter for a near fall. John Cena answered back with a set of Attitude Adjustments, including one from the second rope, but none of them were enough to keep the champion down for the three count.

As the referee went down, Fein played through the speaker and out came Travis Scott with his Hardcore Championship. He broke up a pin by pulling the referee out of the ring after Rhodes hit a Cross Rhodes. He pulled Scott into the ring and nailed him with a Cross Rhodes. Cena had grabbed the title and looked to hit Rhodes with it, but Cody saw him and they had a tug of war with the belt, which Rhodes won. Cena pleaded for him not to hit him, but then low blow Cena and hit him with the title. Cena pinned him and won number 17.

Cena winning his record-breaking 17th championship was a great decision, as everyone is now curious about what will happen next. However, the ending fell flat as just having Travis Scott interfere was not the storyline that the fans expected, and it just felt like a very damaging way to end WrestleMania.