2023 WrestleMania 39: Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar will face Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa on ‘Raw after Mania’
Brock #Brock
The biggest wrestling card of the year, WWE’s WrestleMania 39 wrapped up on Sunday night. The two-night affair featured all of your typical bells and whistles for the “Showcase of the Immortals.” There were 15 matches — including two impromptu, celebrity adjacent affairs — with two title changes and an ending that unexpectedly extends WWE’s biggest storyline heading into WrestleMania.
So what went down in Inglewood, California this weekend? Who were the biggest winners and losers? Which matches will be in the conversation for 2023’s best already? Yahoo Sports takes a look back and has you covered with the results from both nights of wrestling action.
RAW after WrestleMania live updates
Omos recovered from his loss to Lesnar on Sunday by squashing Elias in less than two minutes.
Cody Rhodes interrupts Reigns and asks for a championship rematch tonight. After that is rebuffed, he makes a tag-team match challenge that Reigns accepts on condition that Cody’s partner be someone who wrestled at over the weekend and that person can never challenge Reigns again. Brock Lesnar answers the call and the match is made official.
Raw opens with Triple H coming to the ring to thank the talent, behind-the-scenes personnel and the fans before introducing Roman Reigns.
Most successful WrestleMania of all time
Monday morning — shortly after it was announced that the company merged with UFC owner Endeavor —WWE Chief Content Officer and lead of creative Triple H took to Twitter to announce that WrestleMania 39 “smashed” multiple records. Among the figures cited were a $21.6 million live attendance gate with a total attendance of 161,8922, $21 million in sponsorship revenue and 500 million social views.
WrestleMania 39 results Night 2 (Sunday)
Brock Lesnar pins Omos in 4:57
Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeat Shotzi & Natalya, Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan and Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green in 8:28
Gunther pins Drew McIntyre, defeats Sheamus in 17:38 to retain the Intercontinental Championship
Bianca Belair pins Asuka in 16:55 to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
Snoop Dogg pins The Miz in 2:06
Edge pins The Demon Finn Balor in 18:13 in a Hell in a Cell match
Roman Reigns pins Cody Rhodes in 34:34 to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
Night 1 (Saturday)
Austin Theory pinned John Cena in 11:24 to retain the WWE United States Championship
Street Profits defeated Viking Raiders, Alpha Academy and Braun Strowman & Ricochet in 8:29
Seth Rollins pinned Logan Paul in 16:15
Becky Lynch, Lita and Trish Stratus defeated Damage CTRL in 16:52
Rey Mysterio pinned Dominik Mysterio in 14:23
Rhea Ripley pinned Charlotte Flair in 25:15 to win the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship
Pat McAfee pinned The Miz in 3:40
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens def. The Usos in 24:15 to win the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship
Winner: Women’s wrestling — We’re about eight years removed from the “Women’s Revolution,” ushered in in part by Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and Bayley. Three of the Four Horsewomen were in action this weekend, with Lynch and Bayley working a six-woman tag-team match featuring the past (Lita, Trish Stratus) and future of the division (Iyo Sky, Dakota Kai).
We also saw two of the greatest women’s matches ever as Charlotte Flair defended her Smackdown Women’s Championship against Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair defended her Raw Women’s Championship against Asuka. Ripley and Belair walked away victorious and both matches are worth your time if you missed them.
Winner: Seth Rollins and Logan Paul — Seth Rollins may have won this match, but both he and Logan Paul raised the bar for what a celebrity-esque bout should be at WrestleMania. The victory likely pushes Rollins closer to the top of the WWE card (where he arguably should always be) and it builds Paul’s reputation as a legitimately good and entertaining professional wrestler. Oh, and there was also a walking billboard for Paul’s Prime drink in the form of KSI in a mascot costume.
Winner: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens — The purpose of WrestleMania is to essentially serve as the Super Bowl or season finale of WWE’s year. Night 1 created a WrestleMania moment that will be looked back on fondly for years, if not decades.
Zayn and Owens dethroning The Usos as tag team champions in the main event was significant for a number of reasons. It marked the first time the tag team championships have been defended in the main event of a WrestleMania and it paid off WWE’s best storyline in recent memory. The match was arguably the best of the entire event and sparked a massive crowd reaction when it finally ended.
Winner: Snoop Dogg — Snoop is no stranger to WWE and being part of the events, but Sunday, during Night 2 he was called into emergency action as Shane McMahon suffered a torn quadriceps during an impromptu match against Mike “The Miz” Mizanin. Once McMahon went down, Snoop jumped into ring, hitting a few punches and a People’s Elbow to score the pin. It was a moment that went sideways, but ultimately was salvaged due to quick thinking and action.
Winner: George Kittle — Kittle, the star tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, is not shy about his wrestling fandom. On Saturday night, he was able to get into the ring and be a part of the action alongside former NFL punter and media personality Pat McAfee in a match against The Miz. Crossover moments for the win!
Winner: Roman Reigns — In what was the biggest swerve of the entire event, Roman Reigns retained his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a thrilling main event. Reigns remains the top star in WWE and pretty much the entire industry on a night where it felt like Cody Rhodes was going to “finish the story” and usher in a new era. Rhodes-Reigns had everything you want in a main event and because of the questionable finish — Solo Sikoa interfering as Rhodes was on the cusp of victory — we’re going to see this feud continue and an all-new version of The Bloodline since The Usos lost their own main-event match on Saturday.
Loser: The Judgment Day — Sure, Rhea Ripley won the SmackDown Women’s Championship, but she always seemed destined for bigger things than the faction. Dominik Mysterio and the group’s leader, Finn Bálor, took pretty major losses in storyline-heavy matches at WrestleMania. It seems like we might be headed for a major tag-team match at Backlash in Puerto Rico in May, but beyond that we’re not sure what the long-term plan is for this group.
Loser: Damage CTRL — Bayley, Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai’s group made a huge return/debut at SummerSlam last year and, while it makes sense that they lost Saturday night, it’s hard to view them as a major threat in the women’s division (singles or tag). All three women are too talented to be kept down for long, but much like the Judgment Day, it remains to be seen where this stable goes.
WrestleMania Superlatives
Night 1’s best match: Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
Night 2’s best match: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
Best WrestleMania moment: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens winning Unified Tag Team Championships
Best performance: Rhea Ripley
Best entrance: Bianca Belair
Viral move: Chad Gable’s suplex of Braun Strowman
What’s next? ‘The TODAY show’ and ‘Raw’ After ‘Mania
While WrestleMania the event may be over, the action carries over into Monday as the big winners make appearances on “The TODAY Show” and there’s another whole night of wrestling with WWE’s weekly “Monday Night Raw” airing on USA Network later that day.
The same way WrestleMania serves as the Super Bowl/season finale for WWE, the “Raw” after WrestleMania basically starts the whole cycle all over again. It’s usually a night filled with new storylines, surprise returns and features a “hot” crowd that really adds to the atmosphere.
How to watch:
“Today Show” airs at 7am ET on NBC.
“Monday Night Raw” airs at 8pm ET USA Network
Previous updates from WrestleMania week WWE 2023 Hall of Fame inductees
Rey Mysterio, inducted by Konnan
The Great Muta, inducted by Ric Flair
Andy Kaufman, introduced by Jerry “The King” Lawler, inducted by Jimmy Hart
Stacy Keibler, inducted by Mick Foley and Torrie Wilson
Tim White*, inducted by JBL and Ron Simmons
*Indicates Ultimate Warrior Award recipient
‘Go-home’ SmackDown and Hall of Fame updates
Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns faced off one last time
Sheamus & Drew McIntyre defeated Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Von Kaiser
Raquel Rodriguez defeated Natalya, Shayna Baszler and Sonya Deville in a preview of the women’s “Showcase” Fatal 4-Way match
Bobby Lashley won the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royale, last eliminating Bronson Reed
Ricochet defeated Erik, Chad Gable and Montez Ford in a preview of the men’s “Showcase” Fatal 4-Way match
‘Go-home’ Monday Night RAW updates
Cody Rhodes maintained his undefeated streak — ending Solo Sikoa’s — in a final tune-up match ahead of Sunday’s main event
Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville formed a tag team and qualified for the women’s Fatal 4-Way showcase match by defeating Candice LeRae and Michin
Stacy Keibler was announced as the fourth WWE Hall of Fame inductee for 2023, joining Rey Mysterio, The Great Muta and the late Andy Kaufmann
Omos weighed in at 410 pounds for his match vs. Brock Lesnar, then attacked Lesnar with the scale before the weigh-in could be completed