Originally published at WrestleMania 38: Austin vs. Owens, Cody Rhodes, Belair wins
WWE WrestleMania 38 Saturday
April 2nd, 2022
AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX
Commentary: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves & Byron Saxton
WrestleMania Kickoff
We are outside of the AT&T Stadium with the WrestleMania Kickoff panel consisting of Kayla Braxton, Booker T, JBL, Kevin Patrick & Peter Rosenberg.
Maria Menounos is backstage with Seth Rollins and asks him who he thinks he will face tonight and mentions Hall of Famers like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Booker T or Hulk Hogan, NXT superstars like Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes, and Mr. McMahon himself as possible choices.
We see footage from WWE Axxess of the reveal of the statue for The Undertaker with him there to witness it.
Torontoâs own social media influencer and Chief Strategy Officer of Triller Josh Richards joins the panel and talks about his love for WWE and having an Instagram page as a kid called âWWE Finishersâ, but he gets booed and âwho are youâ chants.
We see Kevin Owens at Axxess yesterday going through all the merch, knocking over Stone Cold Steve Austinâs stuff and destroying a cardboard cutout of him, and saying he bets it will be easier on Saturday. Owens then spray-paints âOwens 3:16: Get Stunnedâ over a mural of Austin.
Jerry Lawler takes JBLâs spot, as Jake Paul comes out to talk about his brother Loganâs match for tonight with The Miz against The Mysterios and his go-to line is âRey Mysterio littleâ. Jake then teases getting into the ring and threatens the fans behind him saying âyâall canât fightâ. Wow, heâs annoying.
We get a young girl whoâs cosplaying as a spot-on Rhea Ripley. Very cool moment for her, Iâm sure, as she did the Rhea entrance and everything.
Maria is backstage with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston, with Woods sporting a sick afro and says he wasnât going to let Kofi take on âButch, Botch & Bitchâ by himself. They say they arenât worried about being outnumbered tonight.
Madcap Moss interrupts the panel and says that Drew McIntyre needs to hit the âPraymoreâ tonight as the only move that can save him, McIntyre is so arrogant that he plays the âbrag pipesâ, Happy Corbin is going to wear McIntyre so much that he will be called âDrew McIn-tiredâ. Booker T was laughing his ass off for these jokes and asked for one more joke, but Moss didnât deliver it.
Titus OâNeil comes out and presents replica titles to community charities in the area before announcing that each of these organizations will receive a grant of $20,000 each from WWE and DoorDash.
WrestleMania 38 Saturday Begins
The WWE signature has new music as we go into the main show with âAmerica the Beautifulâ being sung by multi-platinum country artist Brantley Gilbert. Mark Wahlberg does the introduction video for WrestleMania 38 showing the history of the event and ends it with âIâm looking at you WrestleMania Saturdayâ. I hope Will Ferrell introduces WrestleMania Sunday tomorrow.
The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders come out for a performance to âThunderstruckâ by AC/DC.
Michael Cole and Pat McAfee are the commentary team, as Cole says there are over â70,000â people here tonight.
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs
Nakamura and Boogs come out with some sick looking orange/yellow matching gear (color scheme of the new Mikeâs Hard Lemonade âHalf & Halfâ flavor), as Pat McAfee is going berserk on the commentary table and the HARDER Farmer from the Mikeâs Hard Lemonade commercial is in the front row cheering them on. Samantha Irvin makes the introductions in her WrestleMania debut. Nakamura and Jimmy Uso start the match with Nakamura hitting a quick kick before driving his boot in the corner before Jey comes in and they take Nakamura out with a double team backbreaker. Jimmy comes in and starts choking Nakamura out in the ropes as Jey takes a cheap shot. Jimmy hits an Enziguri and gets a two-count before holding Nakamura down with a chokehold. Nakamura kicks his way out and makes the tag to Boogs as he takes out both Jimmy and Jey. Jey comes back with a superkick, but gets caught in a bear hug as Boogs lifts him up in a vertical suplex, getting down on one knee before getting back up to drop him for a two count. Boogs puts both Usos on his shoulders, but Boogs knee gives out and The Usos spills to the outside. Nakamura tags in and he dives onto The Usos on the outside. Nakamura and Jey go at it, with Nakamura hitting a sliding dropkick as Jey was trapped in the ropes. Nakamura goes for the Kinshasa but gets stopped with a superkick by Jey before Jimmy uses the splash for a two-count. Jey tags in and pulls on Nakamuraâs hair as Jimmy hits a superkick and they hit the One D as Jey gets the pin on Nakamura.
Winners: The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) by pinfall at 6:54, to retain
We see medical personnel attending to Boogs on the outside, as the injury looks legit.
Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin (w/ Madcap Moss)
McIntyre goes after Corbin right away, but Corbin comes back with punches in the corner as McIntyre takes over right away and clotheslines Corbin over the top rope. McIntyre starts ramming Corbin on the outside before they go back inside where Corbin tosses McIntyre into the ring post and he goes spilling on the floor. Inside, Corbin starts trash talking McIntyre and whips him hard into the corner for a one count. Corbin comes back with a vertical suplex and back suplex for another one count. Corbin stays in control as Moss gets on the apron, but that gets Corbin upset as he was trying to run the ropes and he yells at him to get down. McIntyre takes advantage and hits a spine buster. McIntyre continues with a suplex and a neckbreaker, as he does a kip-up and gets the crowd amped. Corbin gets out the Future Shock DDT and hits the Deep Six for a two. McIntyre hits a flying clothesline off the top rope and calls for the Claymore Kick, but Corbin escapes to the outside as McIntyre dives over the top rope onto Corbin and Moss. McIntyre takes Moss out with an overhead suplex on the outside, before going to the top rope and diving, but Corbin ducks. McIntyre misses the Claymore Kick as Corbin hits the End of Days and McIntyre kicks out, as they say, thatâs the first time anybody has ever kicked out of that. McIntyre hits the Future Shock DDT followed by the Claymore Kick for the pin and the win ending the undefeated streak of Happy Corbin.
Winner: Drew McIntyre by pinfall at 8:39
Madcap Moss gets on the apron as McIntyre goes to chop him with âAngelaâ the sword but hits the top rope instead and all the ropes come crashing down with an accompanying sound effect to go with it.
Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio vs. The Miz & Logan Paul
The Mysterios come out to Eddie Guerreroâs â Los Gringos Locosâ inspired gear, in Mexico and USA colors as they do a double âjumping out the skyâ intro. The Miz & Logan Paul come out with black and yellow âPikachuâ inspired gear as Logan is wearing the most expensive Pokemon card ever around his neck. Miz and Rey start the match, with Rey in their corner as Logan comes right in and starts delivering punches to Reyâs mid-section. Logan does a couple of leapfrogs and a split, but Mysterio takes him out with a kick as Miz and Dominik both tag in. Dominik takes both Miz and Logan to the outside where he takes out the Miz with a twisting dive. Logan comes in and hits a power slam on Dominik for a two-count. Miz comes in but gets hit with a backslide, as Dominik gets a two-count. Miz keeps Dominik in their corner as Logan tags in, goes to the middle rope, and hits a blockbuster for a two count. Dominik gets a burst of energy and hits a tornado DDT on Miz while using Logan as a base, knocking him to the floor. The crowd gets behind Dominik as he makes the hot tag to Rey. Rey comes in with a flying hurricanrana and a sunset flip into a kick for a two count. Mysterio hits a moonsault off the top rope, but Logan breaks up the count. Miz and Logan try a double-team suplex, but Dominik breaks it up as Rey rolls up Miz for a two-count. Miz sets up for the 619, but Miz gets up and gets hit with a tornado DDT for another two-count. Miz comes back with the Three Amigos, but Miz gets out on the third attempt and sends Rey into the ring post. Logan comes in, knocks Dominik to the outside, takes Rey down with a boot, and soaks up the boos from the crowd. Logan hits a vertical suplex and then continues for the Three Amigos to a massive amount of boos. Logan goes to the top rope, does the Eddie shimmy, and hits a Frog Splash, as Rey kicks out at the last second. Dominik chases Logan on the outside, as he runs back in and gets hit with a double 619, followed by Frog Splashes by both Rey and Dominik. Miz, the legal man, comes in and hits the Skull Crushing Finale on Rey and gets the pin and the win.
Winners: The Miz & Logan Paul by pinfall at 11:16
As they are celebrating, The Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale on Logan Paul and leaves him in the ring.
Stephanie McMahon introduces Gable Steveson
Stephanie McMahon comes out and thanks the crowd. She says she is blown away by the majesty of WrestleMania and everybody coming from around the world to celebrate this thing that we all love. They say âThen, Now & Foreverâ for a reason as she introduces Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson who comes out and cheers on the crowd.
WWE Raw Womenâs Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bianca Belair
Becky Lynch has an intro graphic before her theme that looks like a Marvel Studios opening graphic mixed with the WWE signature but with all Beckyâs in the letters, as Becky comes out of a truck with her new haircut and look. Bianca has the Texas Southern University marching band that plays her out doing her theme music. This is wonderful. Bianca puts her hand out to start the match but right away Bianca goes for the KOD, but Bianca turns it into the Man Handle Slam for a two count as the crowd was about to lose it. Becky stays on top of Bianca and goes for multiple pin attempts. Becky keeps at it but gets caught trying to use her feet on the ropes. Bianca comes back with a suplex, but Becky reverses the second one and gets a two count. Becky goes to the top but misses the moonsault, as Bianca puts on the Disarmer, but Becky gets to the ropes. They go right back to quick pin attempts until Becky kicks Bianca in the mid-section. Bianca sends Becky to the outside, but Becky brings her with her dragging her by the hair before pushing her into the steel steps. Becky stays on her with Bec-Sploder Suplexes before whipping Biancaâs throat first into ropes as commentary brings up that being a weak spot for her due to the recent attack. Becky superkicks Bianca onto the ropes and hits her with a leg drop from the top rope for a two count. They tussle for a bit before Becky trips Bianca face first off the rope, hits a suplex, and puts on an armbar. Bianca powers her way out and dumps Becky to the outside but falls out with her. They brawl on the outside, as Bianca springboards off the apron and ropes and hits a suplex to Becky on the outside. They start brawling inside with Bianca landing strikes and a rib breaker for a two count. Becky counters a powerbomb attempt into a two-count before Bianca hits a facebuster and a springboard moonsault for a two-count. Bianca goes to the top rope, but Becky meets her at the top. Bianca puts Becky on his shoulders and drops her straight down onto the top turnbuckle. Bianca goes right back up and hits a 450 splash, but Becky kicks out at the last second. Becky gets on the apron and snaps Bianca down onto it, gets on the top rope, and does a rolling thunder kick as Becky connects with her foot to Biancaâs face. They go back and forth and into a couple of pin attempts, as Becky drives her leg into Biancaâs face. Bianca tries for the KOD, but Becky holds onto the rope and gets dumped outside. Bianca quickly goes to send her back inside, but Becky goes right back outside and drags Bianca by her braid into the ring post. Outside, Becky hits the Man Handle Slam onto Bianca on top of the steel steps. Bianca gets in the ring right before the ten-count, and Becky rolls her up for a two. They go back and forth a bit until Bianca escapes with a backflip and hits the KOD for the pin. Fantastic match.
Winner: Bianca Belair by pinfall at 19:08 to become NEW WWE Raw Womenâs Champion
Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes
Rollins has a childrenâs choir on stage that sings him out with his theme song. Rollins is waiting for a while before his opponent is introduced and gets upset for waiting. We get a whole bunch of pyro that hits from the ring all the way up to the top of the ramp and the lights go out. We hear âKingdomâ by Downstait play as Cody Rhodes makes his entrance just like he would in AEW. This is surreal. Rhodes and Rollins take all this in as the crowd is euphoric.
They go to lock-up, but Rhodes is playing with him and the crowd a bit. Rhodes hits an arm drag and does a cartwheel with a little nod to Stardust. They run the ropes a bit until Rhodes hits his signature drop down into a low punch. They start trading punches, and both dodge the Pedigree, Cross Rhodes, and the Stomp into multiple suplex attempts with both spilling to the outside. They tangle it up on the ropes with Rhodes kicking Rollins down low, but Rollins pops back up with an Enziguri. Rhodes jumps off the top rope but Rollins stops him with a dropkick to the ribs. Rollins continues to attack the ribs and hits a gutbuster for a one-count. Rollins shouts âWelcome back to the big leagues, bitchâ and attacks Rhodes.
They start trading hard chops until Rhodes hits a snap power slam and clotheslines Rollins to the outside where he meets him with a suicide dive sending Rollins over the announcerâs table. Back inside, Rhodes hits a moonsault on Rollins and gets a two-count. They go outside, where Rhodes jumps off the stairs only for Rollins to catch him and powerbomb him into the barricade. Rollins hits a jumping knee, superkick, and a Falcon Arrow for a two count. Rollins starts screaming that itâs his moment and goes for the stomp. Rhodes counters the stomp twice and goes for the Cross Rhodes twice, hitting it the second time, but Rollins kicks out. Rhodes goes to the top rope, but Rollins knocks him down. Rollins joins him up there and hits an inverted superplex and gets a two count. Rollins heads to the top rope but misses the Phoenix Splash, and goes for the pedigree, but Rhodes gets out and tries a pedigree of his own that they turn into pin attempts.
Rhodes goes for the pedigree but hits the powerbomb instead followed by the Cody Cutter for a two count. The crowd is ecstatic for Cody here, but Rollins gets up and hits the pedigree for a two-count. Rollins and Rhodes slowly go to punch each other, before picking it up. Rollins says this is his house, company, and industry, as he delivers kicks, a rolling elbow, and a forearm to the back of Rhodesâ head knocking him down. As Rollins goes to run the ropes, Rhodes catches him and two back-to-back Cross Rhodes and then starts punching just like his dad Dusty Rhodes did ending with the Bionic Elbow. Rhodes goes and hits a third Cross Rhodes for the pin and the win. What a moment.
Winner: Cody Rhodes by pinfall at 21:33
WWE Hall of Fame 2022
We get the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2022 introduced on the stage including The Undertaker with his full entrance but comes out wearing a suit.
There is an update on Rick Boogs saying he has a quadriceps patella injury and will require surgery.
They announce tonightâs attendance as 77,899.
WWE SmackDown Womenâs Championship: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Ronda Rousey
Right away they go into the corner before Ronda chases Charlotte into the ropes with strikes. Charlotte hits a cheap shot and takes Ronda down with a waist lock takedown. Ronda rolls out in an ankle lock attack but lets her go. Charlotte takes her down and tries the Figure Four, but Ronda escapes into a Triangle attempt. Charlotte goes to the apron and kicks Ronda off, but Ronda comes back with a high knee and locks Charlotte up with her legs on the ropes. They fight on the apron with Charlotte dropping Ronda onto her knee before dropping an elbow. Charlotte whips Ronda to the floor with her leg before joining her out there and tosses her face first into the ring post. Charlotte keeps at the offense knocking Ronda down with a hard forearm for a two count. They go back and forth with some hard shots, before Ronda throws around Charlotte a bit, but Charlotte comes back with a spear. Charlotte tries a moonsault off the top rope, but misses and tries a standing moonsault, not coming close to Ronda. Charlotte hits a couple chops, but Ronda comes back with a suplex for a two. Charlotte traps Ronda in the ropes with a Boston Crab, but Ronda pops up and gets out, knocking Charlotte off with an arm drag for a two count. Ronda hits the Piperâs Pit and tries to put on the arm bar, but Charlotte escapes. Ronda comes back with a knee to the face, but Charlotte knocks her down with a boot. Charlotte goes for the Figure Four, but Ronda counters and hits a scoop slam for a two. Ronda rolls through and puts on the ankle lock, but Charlotte reverses into her own ankle lock. Ronda rolls over and whips Charlotte face first into the bottom turnbuckle. Charlotte slowly gets up, as Ronda gets on her back and gets dropped down as Charlotte gets a two. They go back and forth reversing their submissions, until Ronda puts on the ankle lock and locks it in on the mat. Before Charlotte can tap out, she kicks her way out. Ronda tries an armbar, but Charlotte turns it into the Figure Eight, but Ronda reverses it until she goes crashing to the outside. Charlotte tries to go to the top rope, but Ronda grabs her and tosses her to the floor. Ronda runs towards Charlotte on the outside and gets tossed into the barricade with a fall away slam. They crawl back into the ring as Ronda catches Charlotte and hits the Piperâs Pit as the referee counts the three but notices Charlotteâs foot on the rope and calls it off. Charlotte comes back with the Natural Selection, but Ronda kicks out. Charlotte goes for the Figure Eight but Ronda kicks her out and into the referee hitting him with a spear. Ronda puts on the arm bar as Charlotte taps out, but Charles Robinson is knocked out. Ronda goes to wake up Robinson, but Charlotte goes and hits a big boot and gets the pin.
Winner: Charlotte Flair by pinfall at 18:21, to retain
WrestleMania Hollywood
We get a promo for WrestleMania 39 (Hollywood) at SoFi Stadium on April 1st and April 2nd 2023.
The Kevin Owens Show with Stone Cold Steve Austin
The crowd right away starts chanting for Austin as Owens welcomes everybody to the main event edition of the Kevin Owens Show. Owens makes a joke and calls Texas the ass of America and says maybe he took it too far and maybe he should apologize. So he sincerely apologies to every single Texan out there and heâs sorry for telling the absolute truth about your pathetic state. After being here for a couple of days itâs actually worse than he remembered. Owens says he feels like the fans are eagerly anticipating bringing out his guest, but itâs his show and heâll bring him out when he wants to and heâs not done talking about him. Owens calls Austin the worst role model in WWE history but tonight when heâs sitting in that chair heâs going to look him in the eyes and tell him that he sucks, and Austin is not going to do a damn thing about it. If Austin doesnât show him the respect he commands, heâs going to hit him with a stunner and pour beer on his bald head as we hear the glass shatter and Austinâs music plays.
Austin gets a huge reaction as he goes to both sides of the WrestleMania stage before heading to the ring. He stops himself short and goes to the back. Austin comes back down on an ATV and drives it around the ring before finally entering. Austin kicks the KO Show stands out of the way so he can do his turnbuckle poses. Owens cuts the music and tells Austin this isnât his show as the crowd is fully behind Austin chanting for him. Owens tells Austin to take a seat, as Austin stares right into the camera. They both sit down and Austin says after all the trash Owens has been talking he wants to bring him here for a conversation, before saying Owens looks like a jackass and calls him a stupid son of a bitch for running down Texas. Owens says he doesnât know whatâs so great about Texas as it gets too hot, the land is flat and uninspiring and the people wear stupid hats, boots and belt buckles. Owens tells them they can make it better by taking off those clothes and moving to Mexico. Austin prompts the entire audience to call Owens an asshole. Owens tells Austin not to be the stereotypical rude Texan and to be more like him, a sophisticated French-Canadian and he is going to move past the insults and be the bigger man as he is going to let him in on a secret. Owens said he lied about inviting him to come here and talk and says he actually tricked Austin. Owens says he doesnât want to talk, heâs looking for a fight. Owens brought Austin out there to challenge him to a match. Owens knows itâs been 19 years and Austinâs body must all be shot, but he has no reason not to accept the match and challenges him to a No Holds Barred match right then and now. Owens says Austin canât even talk and he knows why because Austin is telling himself that he canât beat this big beautiful French bastard in KO, and he thinks Austin is right so tells Austin if heâs not going to accept the match to take his beer, get on his âgolf cartâ and take his ass back to his stupid ranch. Austin looks around and soaks in the crowd reaction before saying that had his first match in Dallas, Texas and he could have his last match in Dallas, Texas and asks the crowd if they want him to compete in a match to give him a hell yeah, in which, they do and asks for a god damn ref.
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens
No Holds Barred Match: âStone Coldâ Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens
The referee rings the bell as this match becomes a reality. They get into each otherâs face before they start trading punches. Austin corners Owens and starts mudhole stomping as the crowd counts along before Austin speeds it up and they lose count. Austin calls Owens a stupid son of a bitch and whips him into the corner. Austin grabs a beer, drinks it and starts stomping Owens again. Austin takes Owens and sends him to the outside, grabs another beer, gets whipped into the barricade but comes back with a clothesline. Austin picks up Owens and drops him onto the apron, before he goes and rakes his eyes. Austin goes to whip Owens, but Owens reverses and tosses Austin face first into the ring post. Owens takes one of the tripods and starts attacking Austin with it. Owens goes and grabs a table from under the ring and sets it up against the barricade. Owens goes to toss Austin into it, but Austin reverses and sends Owens crashing into it. Austin goes and tosses Owens over the barricade as they start fighting into the crowd. Austin goes for a suplex on the floor, but Owens reverses and hits the suplex to Austin on the concrete. They start trading hard punches but Owens knocks Austin down with a knee to the gut before dragging him over the barricade by the announcers table. Austin tosses Owens from the barricade to the top of the table, but it doesnât break. Austin grabs a couple more beers, gets on top of the table and Owens and chugs them down. Austin mounts Owens and delivers a dozen or so right punches ending with the double fists, before grabbing another beer and spitting it all over Owens. Austin tosses Owens back inside, but Owens snaps Austinâs neck on the top rope. Owens gets on Austinâs ATV but he doesnât know how to start it up. Austin gets behind him and drives it up the ramp with Owens on it. They start brawling on the stage where Austin hits a suplex. Austin takes him to the other side of the stage and hits another suplex. Austin drags Owens down and sends him flying down the ramp and into the ring. Austin grabs two more beers and drinks them down, but Owens hits him with a Stunner. Owens goes for the pin, but Austin kicks out. Owens goes and grabs a chair, but Austin ducks the chair shot and it bounces off the ropes and hits Owens on his own head. Austin follows that with the Stone Cold Stunner and gets the pin and the win. Austin delivered much more than anyone could have asked for.
Winner: âStone Coldâ Steve Austin by pinfall at 13:56
Austin celebrates by drinking more beer and tosses some into the audience. Austin goes back inside and hits Owens with another Stunner. Two officers come down and escort Owens out of the Stadium. Austin grabs the mic and says itâs good to be in Texas and thatâs the bottom line âcuz Stone Cold said so.
Austin invites Byron Saxton in for a beer, toasts with him and delivers a Stunner. Austin invites in his brother Kevin and shares a beer with him.