Snoop Dogg was back out to announce the attendance. It was another sold out crowd, this time with 72,755 in attendance. Over two nights, the total audience was 145,420. Snoop seemed thrilled that the total attendance ended with 420. I’m happy for him.
Cody got a fancy Wrestlemania entrance, with a post-apocalyptic feel. Imagine videos of his American Nightmare flags burning and Cody rising from the ground with a skull mask and Brandi Rhodes at his side to a massive pop. Honestly, it was wonderful seeing Brandi next to Cody before she headed to the back.
Cody wore his most elaborate jacket yet to the ring. If he were a heel, he would look too much like Homelander. But everyone loved the guy. Meanwhile, a symphony was being set up on the stage for Roman’s entrance–and not a small one. The entire stage was packed with musicians, ready to welcome the Tribal Chief.
The symphonic entrance for Roman was excellent and made Roman’s entrance seem somehow more epic in scope, which is hard to do. It should be noted, Roman’s second pyro was the second time tonight my Apple Watch told me the sound level was too loud and could cause hearing damage. The first time was when the singer of “America, The Beautiful” hit her high note.
At some point, we should probably talk about how referee Charles Robinson seemingly stopped aging around 2008.
The crowd was super hot for Cody right out of the gate, but there were plenty of Tribal Chief fans in the audience. Taking a very unscientific pole yesterday, the combined forces of GameSpot and GiantBomb talked to dozens of tailgaters outside of Lincoln Financial Field and found that Cody has pretty overwhelming support, but Roman’s fans were steadfast in their confidence. Oh and there was a lot of alcohol and hotdogs everywhere.
Oddly enough, Cody was the first one to take advantage of Bloodline Rules, going for a table. It didn’t get him anywhere, though, as Roman hit the drive-by dropkick and slid the table back under the ring. Is that the first time a wrestler had put a table away?
Roman managed to nail Cody with a few kendo stick shows, though they didn’t seem to slow the Roller Codester (Hey, MJF) down. Roman did remain in control, though, tossing Cody out of the ring and into the Prime Hydration Station, which is still here. Nobody actually used it to hydrate. Just to throw people at.
From there, they fought into the crowd, with Cody suplexing Roman on a giant black box that was just coincidently right there to be used as a landing pad.
Back in the ring, Cody tried to hit a Cody Cutter but hadn’t worn Roman down enough yet, allowing the Tribal Chef to counter it with a mean-looking powerbomb.
“This is my company, you b****,” Roman yelled at Cody after laying a beating on him. Technically, it’s The Rock’s company, as Roman isn’t on the board of directors. But I don’t think he would care to hear my thoughts on the matter.
As the match continued, the men began trading heavy blows until they simply clotheslined each other in the middle of the ring. After some more back-and-forth, Reigns hit Cody with a Crossrhodes. Yes, you read that right. And, honestly? It looked wonderful. And boy does Cody know how to sell his own move. It wasn’t enough to put him away, though.
Outside the ring, Reigns stopped Rhodes’ comeback in its tracks with a low blow, followed up by a powerbomb through the announcer’s table, before rolling him into the ring for a Superman Punch. Not enough to end the match, but Cody was reeling.
After getting back to his feet, he avoided a spear and delivered a Cody Cutter, which didn’t end the match. He did spear Roman for a very long two-count, getting his opponent back for that earlier Crossrhodes.
He then went for his own Crossrhodes, hitting it. That’s when Bloodline Rules came into play, though. Jimmy Uso came out with the superkick, leveling Rhodes. Cue Jey Uso’s theme as he comes out to save his friend. He literally speared Jimmy off of the ramp, while Cody and Roman kept fighting. Cody managed to kick out of a spear.
Outside of the ring, Cody nailed another spear on Roman, this time sending him through the barricade at ringside, eliciting a massive pop from the crowd. Back in the ring, Cody again went for the Crossrhodes Trinity, before Solo Sikoa cut him short with a thumb to the throat. Still, Cody kicked out. Solo beat on him more, then Roman hit yet another spear-only two.
That’s when, of all people, John Cena showed up. You might remember, Cena’s last match was a loss to Solo, so this is a nice but of continuity. Cena ran to the ring and beat the absolute hell out of Solo Sikoa while the crowd lost their minds. He then gave Roman Reigns an A and bailed to clear the Spanish announce table, putting Solo through that.
Cue The Rock, of course. Rock slowly walked to the ring as Cena stared him down. When he entered, Cena got ready for a fight as the crowd chanted “holy shit.” Immediately, Rock hit Cena with the Rock Bottom. Then the Shield theme hit, with Rollins walking from the stands with a chair. Roman Superman Punched him before he could actually do anything, though.
But then, of all things, The Undertaker showed up. This was absolutely the wackiest Wrestlemania main event I had ever been in attendance for. When the lights came up, Taker was behind Rock and hit him with a heck of a chokeslam. One more gong and Undertaker was gone. When the dust settled, only Roman and Cody were alive, though Cody was in rough shape and Roman had a steel chair.
Reigns, though, was too focused on getting revenge on Rollins for his original betrayal that broke up the Shield. That allowed Cody the chance to hit the Crossrhodes Trinity once more, finally ending Roman’s reign.
This was absolutely bonkers, but so entertaining, and managed to work in a bunch of stories from throughout Roman’s–and even Rock’s–careers. And Cody got to finish th]e story. Brandi Rhodes came down to celebrate with him.
Winner: Cody Rhodes via pinfall
Rating: 9.5/10
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