WWE WrestleMania 35 Live Results, Highlights, and Grades

Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

The second match of WrestleMania 35 changed the pace with some non-title action from SmackDown Live. Both AJ Styles and Randy Orton had simple but epic entrances, showing how much this match is about respect and what they can do between the ropes. The match started with a traditional lockup, again emphasizing the desire between these two to prove their superiority.

After some early back and forth, Randy Orton tried for an early RKO, but Styles slipped away. Orton began wearing down AJ Styles with some targeting of the mid-section, even sending AJ flying off the apron and into the ringside barricade. AJ Styles began to fight back, hitting an ushiguroshi before dodging another RKO attempt, but Orton followed it up with a crisp spinning powerslam.

AJ Styles pushed himself back into the driver’s seat, targeting the leg of Randy Orton with several attempts at the calf crusher. He then looked to finish it with a Phenomenal Forearm, but saw that Orton was going to counter it with an RKO. AJ stopped mid-attempt, causing Orton to drop hard to the mat. AJ followed it with a springboard 450 Splash, hitting it clean and earning a near fall.

Randy Orton began to fight back into things, and the action found itself on the turnbuckle where Randy Orton hit an extremely high angle superplex, one of the most gorgeous I’ve ever seen. Randy began calling for an RKO to end things, but AJ slipped away, hit an enziguri, and rolled up Orton for another near fall.

Suddenly, as out of nowhere as you’d expect, Randy Orton planted AJ Styles with an RKO only for Styles to somehow kick out. Orton suddenly went all out, putting Styles on the turnbuckle and looking for an RKO off the top rope, but Styles slipped away and hit a pele kick. With Orton on the outside, he hit a Phenomenal Forearm to the outside. Back in the ring, Orton tried one last RKO attempt, but Styles countered it and hit another Phenomenal Forearm to secure the victory.

Grade: A-, Slow start and a bit of a lull during the match, but a really strong final sequence. Props to both men for getting a distracted crowd engaged back in things and finishing on the right note.