So here it is, the night 2 of WrestleMania 38, which came with some big surprises, some were really good and some were quite disappointing. And how was the main event? Was it really worth all the hype? What was the best match of the night and what turned out to be the best match of the event? Let us go through everything that took place on the night 2 of WrestleMania 38.
Match 1 – WWE Raw Tag Team Championship – RK-Bro defeated the Street Profits and Alpha Academy to retain
WWE WrestleMania 38 Night 2 Review & Results
It was a great way to start the event along with this triple threat match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship. It is quite cool to see both Nights started with the two Tag Team championships. Again, it is a little disappointing getting to know that soon they will be merged. It was a good match and it was booked for 11 minutes.
Riddle took most of the beating and Otis had been presented as a Powerhouse like he always had been. Orton pinned Gable to earn the victory for his side. Gable Steveson who would surely make his in ring debut tomorrow what physically involved in a fight with Chad Gable at the end of the match and nailed him with a belly to belly suplex.
Match 2 – Bobby Lashley defeated Omos
It was only a six minute long match which came out with a big surprise. Omos lost the match clean, something that a lot of fans did not expect to see. Omos dominated the whole match, but once he lost the control of the match he totally lost it. Lashley pinned him with a Spear. Hopefully, this is not the end of Omos. But WWE should not push him like they Braun Strowman. If they really need to push him as a potential main event star, they should tune in to WWE Network on Peacock to see how they pushed Kane or the Big Show.
Match 3 – Johnny Knoxville defeated Sami Zayn in an Anything Goes match
This was actually a Hardcore match that had been presented as an Anything Goes match. It was not a bad match since it was a Hardcore match but honestly, it was a complete waste of time. They gave it a booking of 15 minutes, it was one of the longest matches of the night. But what was the purpose? Everybody knew Sami was going to lose, celebrities never lose at WrestleMania. Knoxville is not coming back to WWE again, so it was basically a pointless match. But kudos to Knoxville for taking so much beating, and to Sami who carried the match throughout.
Match 4 – WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – Sasha Banks & Naomi defeated Carmella & Queen Zelina, Shayna Baszler & Natalya, and Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan in a fatal 4 way match to become new champions
There were not enough expectations from this match since Women’s Tag Team Championship matches could never deliver anything special in the stages of WrestleMania. But this was not a bad match. Everyone that was involved in this match did really good. Liv Morgan took most of the beatings in this match, the rest of the performers did good as well. The match got a booking time of nearly 11 minutes. However, the winners of the match were quite predictable.
Match 5 – Edge defeated AJ Styles
We believe this is the best match of WrestleMania 38, and yes, it is the best match on both nights. Even better than the match between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins or Becky vs, Bianca. We can guarantee this match would be going on as one of the top contenders for Match of the Year 2022. It was also the longest match of the event. It got a booking of over 24 minutes. Damian Priest got involved in the match at the end who distracted AJ Styles and Edge capitalized with the Spear to pin him. After the match, Edge and Damian Priest formed a new alliance.
Match 6 – Sheamus and Ridge Holland defeated The New Day
This was the worst match of the event which received only 2 minute booking time, even less than that. We have already said that we believe it was planned to be a 6 man tag team match, just because Big E got injured they could not organize it. But this match deserved more booking time. They wasted too much time on the Johnny Knoxville vs Sami Zayn match and recaps. This match should not have been booked for WrestleMania.
Match 7 – Pat McAfee defeated Austin Theory
This was also quite an anticipated match and it was all because of the evening return of Pat McAfee. The fans were all behind him throughout the match, and what an amazing performance he showcased. He was extremely entertaining throughout the match. And during the 10 minutes of booking time, the fans remained completely hooked with it. McAfee pinned Theory with a roll up. It was not the best match of the night but it was quite entertaining.
Match 8 – Vince McMahon defeated Pat McAfee
This was probably the biggest surprise of this year’s WrestleMania. Vince McMahon got physically involved in a wrestling match at the age of 76. After the previous match, Vince McMahon fought a match with McAfee. Throughout this match, McAfee did not get a single offense. It was more of a squash with outside interference.
It is definitely a baseless idea that a young man got beaten down by a 76 year old former part time wrestler, but it will be remarkable as the last ever wrestling match of Vince McMahon. Theory kept on interfering during the match, he even attacked McAfee while the referee saw it. Still there was no bells. And it was not even a no DQ match. We really do not know what was going on there.
After Vince McMahon pinned Pat McAfee, Vince and Theory was celebrating together. Stone Cold Steve Austin came out and hit a Stunner on Theory. Theory actually oversold the move but it was fun. After that we got to see a glimpse of the epic feud between Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin hit a Stunner on McMahon. Austin also hit a Stunner on McAfee. At the end of the segment, McAfee was seen drinking beer while lying down after taking the Stunner. It was one of the funniest moments of the night.
Match 9 – Champion vs. Champion Winner Take All – Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
This match has been built as the biggest Wrestlemania match of all time. But was it really? In fact it turned out to be one of the worst WrestleMania main events ever. This was pure and simply disappointing. Who would have thought that this is going to be there what clash ever? And why did WWE booked this match in such a way since these two athletes would never deliver a good match. Why didn’t they give it a longer booking time? They kept on wasting time with recaps of night 1, but they could not book a solid main event. This is just unacceptable.
Lesnar was, all the same, only two moves, German Suplex and F5. Roman was going to win, it was predicted by almost everyone. This is what Vince McMahon wanted to do from a long time, Roman Reigns beat Brock Lesnar clean on WrestleMania. And it finally happened. You might say that Vince booked this match for his personal satisfaction only.
WrestleMania 38 could have go on as one of the best WrestleManias ever, but now it will be remembered as the one with one of the worst main events ever. Plus, Vince McMahon mistakenly gave spoiler of the main event before it when he called Austin Theory a future WWE Universal champion. The same thing Michael Cole did during WrestleMania XV. Except for the main event, it was a good event overall with Edge vs. AJ Styles being the best match of it. The most important part of the silent retirement of Triple H at the beginning of the show. It was a really emotional moment.