The top 5 moments of WrestleMania weekend

The world of professional wrestling was buzzing over WrestleMania weekend. The action from the big show had many memorable moments, both within the WWE and in other promotions throughout the industry. The WWE wasn’t the only wrestling company that had big shows over the weekend because other companies such as GCW, Impact, and ROH had huge shows that featured marquee names, some major title matches, and dream matches fans thought would never happen. In this article, I will be discussing the top five moments from Wrestlemania weekend.

5. Samoa Joe Signs with AEW

https://twitter.com/brwrestling/status/1510090190706012162?s=21&t=eZTgBKkUIuSiZSvqikvA0Q

The world of professional wrestling was shocked to see Samoa Joe appear at the Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor event Friday. Samoa Joe was released by the WWE three months ago because of budget cuts. It was announced that Joe had signed a contract with AEW. Samoa Joe will make his first appearance for AEW on this Wednesday episode of Dynamite. Supercard of Honor was the first ROH show since the promotion was bought by AEW President and CEO Tony Khan. It will be interesting to see what Tony decides to do with ROH in the next couple of months because if it is going to be the AEW version of NXT, then keeping Samoa Joe on that brand could be huge.

4. Bianca Belair’s Revenge

When it comes to storytelling in professional wrestling, many fans think the WWE can’t do that anymore. But that was proven not true because Bianca Belair finally got her revenge on Becky. Bianca Belair is the future of the women’s division because of her determination and athleticism. The WWE was wise to allow Bianca to get her revenge for last year’s summer slam embarrassment.

Both women told a great story inside of the ring. Becky Lynch couldn’t put Belair away, and d fan tried to settle for a count-out near the end. When Bianca hauled herself back inside of the ring. Becky Lynch losing to Bianca doesn’t hurt her because she’s such a unique worker that she can put other women over and still feel like a threat to the women’s division.

3. The Briscoes vs. FTR finally happens

The ROH Tag Team Championships were up for grabs when Dem Boys, Jay, and Mark Briscoe took on Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler of FTR. This was a dream match that wrestling fans have wanted to see for years.

Both teams had trouble holding themselves back until the ref could call for the ring bell. The crowd was chanting before they could even make contact with each other. The energy of the match could be felt way before both teams made their entrances. FTR got some boos when they refused to shake hands which is a massive sign of district in ROH because of the Honor Code. This match was a technical exchange which was a surprise because many fans expected a fistfight.

This match was a perfect example of why Tag Team wrestling is an important part of professional wrestling. All four wrestlers worked great together to create one of the most entertaining tag team matches fans have seen in years. This match had an old-school feel because it had violence, technical precision, brutal strikes, classic submission holds, and blood. It might have had everything you could want in a pro wrestling match. The match had several false finishes that had the crowd convinced that the match was over. There was a scary moment in the match where a suplex from the apron brought out the doctor to check on everyone at ringside, but all four men decided to continue the match. When the teams got back in the ring, they would brawl again, which would lead to FTR hitting their finishes to win the ROH tag titles. The ending of the match showed fans how both teams respect each other because it ended with handshakes and hugs.

2. Stone Cold’s’ First Match In 19 Years

WWE was smart not to announce an actual match between Steve Austin and Kevin Owens ahead of Wrestlemania because it would’ve given fans unrealistic expectations. The WWE took the pressure away from Austin by revealing the plans live at Wrestlemania. The Texas crowd came alive once it became clear that a ‘No Holds Barred’ battle between both men was on, and the noise didn’t stop till the end of the match. This wasn’t a technical classic and was never going to be, and that’s okay because fans were just happy to see Steve in a match. This match was about Austin wrestling in his home state one more time and Kevin Owens being given the opportunity to the main event against the most legendary wrestler in the WWE.

1. AEW’s Cody Rhodes Is WWE’s Cody Rhodes

In 2022 it’s hard to keep secrets when it comes to professional wrestling because of the internet. The rumors of Cody Rhodes leaving AEW and signing to the WWE were made weeks ago, so fans knew about it. The WWE did a great job of making sure Cody Rhodes didn’t make his return debut till Wrestlemania. It felt weird to hear Cody’s entrance music be the same as on AEW. The WWE was smart to allow Cody to keep his American Nightmare gimmick and keep the same entrance music because it showed that Cody would be a top guy in the WWE.

The match between Cody and Seth was the best match of Wrestlemania weekend because it told the story of two wrestlers that wanted to create a special moment at Wrestlemania. Cody Rhodes can finally say he had a Wrestlemania moment, and Seth can say that he helped make sure Cody’s return match lived up to expectations all the fans had. Cody and Seth added some nice nods to their old mentors/rivals from the last such as Seth using Triple H’s pedigree as a false finish. The world will never see the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes versus Triple H because of the game announcing his retirement, but Seth using Triple H’s finisher on Cody was an excellent way to tie in the story of Triple H and Cody having their own issues with each other in the past.