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WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT
APRIL 18, 2025
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA AT T-MOBILE ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY ERIC CORBRIDGE, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett
Ring Announcer: Mark Nash
Attendance: WrestleTix reports that 16,139 were distributed headed into the show. The arena was set up for 17,311.
[HOUR ONE]
– Joe Tessitore welcomed the audience to Sin City. Several wrestlers were shown arriving to the T-Mobile Arena, including the WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes, the Motor City Machine Guns, and the WWE Tag Team Champions The Street Profits. Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga also arrived in a car. But, out of nowhere L.A. Knight attacked Tonga from behind and slammed his hand in a car door in the parking lot.
– Seth Rollins’ music played and the self-proclaimed “Visionary” made his entrance. Rolins, wearing a flashy black, white, and green suit with flower designs all over it, welcomed the crowd to “Friday Night Rollins.” Many fans in the crowd chanted for C.M. Punk. Rollins sat down in the ring ALA Punk. Then there were O.T.C. chants. Rollins mocked the crowd for chanting Punk’s name for 10 years to come back to wrestling because when Punk finally came back it was only for a big, fat, check and wasn’t even to WWE. Rollins pointed out that Punk did eventually come back to WWE, but it was only because he burned bridges at the other place and WWE wrote him another big, fat check. The crowd started a “big, fat, check” chant. Rollins: “Tell me when I’m telling lies.”
Rollins shifted to talking about Roman Reigns, leading to another O.T.C. chant. Rollins claimed that Reigns doesn’t even pretend to care about the fans and that “you can believe that.” There were more chants for Reigns. Rollins said that neither Punk nor Reigns knows anything about sacrifice, unlike Rollins. Rollins said that this story started 12 years ago when Paul Heyman brought Rollins, Reigns, and Dean Ambrose to WWE to be a “shield” for Punk. Rollins sacrificed everything, but he received no credit for it because all the credit went to the new cash cow Reigns. Then Punk left, Rollins kept sacrificing everything until Wrestlemania 40, where Rollins wrestled with a severely injured knee, while his stepdad was dying of cancer, to ensure that Reigns lost the WWE Undisputed Championship. The crowd started chanting for Rollins.
Rollins said that the story that started 12 years ago will end tomorrow night at Wrestlemania in the most important triple threat match in WWE history. Rollins said that once again he will sacrifice everything to make sure the industry moves forward in the right direction. Rollins finished by saying “that’s not a prediction, it’s a spoiler.”
(Corbridge’s Analysis: Rollins is confident heading into tomorrow night’s Wrestlemania Night One main event. As he’s done for several weeks now, Rollins expertly used facts from the last decade concerning himself, Punk, and Reigns to drive his point home that it’s best for the industry for him to win the match. Rolins is at his best when he’s being serious. I still predict he will win at Wrestlemania, but I do not think Heyman will side with him. I believe that whatever happens with Heyman will be ambiguous, such as him “accidentally” costing Reigns and/or Punk the match. Heyman may even walk out on the match at some point. Bonus points if he looks at the camera and says “Deuces, Uces.”.)
– The announcers ran through full the Wrestlemania 41 Night One and Night Two card.
– The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy was shown. The lights went out.
– When the lights came back on, Rey Fenix entered as the first participant in the Battle Royal. Tessitore pointed out that the first hour of tonight’s Smackdown would be commercial-free. A video was shown explain the history of the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Most of the participants were already in the ring.
The last entrant for the battle royal was former United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. When he entered, they went to an overhead shot of the ring to show how full the ring was of wrestlers. The bell rang.
(1) ANDRE THE GIANT MEMORIAL BATTLE ROYAL
PARTICIPANTS (in alphabetical order): Akira Tozawa, Andrade, Angel, Austin Theory, Berto, Brutus Creed, Carlito, Carmelo Hayes, Chad Gable, Cruz Del Toro, Dragon Lee, Elton Prince, Grayson Waller, Julius Creed, Joaquin Wilde, Karrion Kross, Kit Wilson, Ludwig Kaiser, The Miz, Otis, Pete Dunne, R-Truth, Rey Fenix, Santos Escobar, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tyler Bate
According to Wade Barrett, the matched started with 26 men in the ring. Carlito had an apple and was about to bite into it, but R-Truth stole it and bit into it instead. Truth eliminated Carlito. Carmelo Hayes and Truth battled on the apron until The Miz knocked Truth off and out of the match. Karrion Kross got in Miz’s face. Los Garza double-teamed Fenix. They tried again, but it backfired and Fenix eliminated Berto with a hurricanrana and Angel with an uppercut. Santos Escobar tried to call a truce with Fenix, as he looked down with disgust at Los Garza on the floor. Pretty Deadly teamed up on Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate. Grayson Waller and Austin Theory snuck up behind and threw out Elton Prince and Kit Wilson. Theory and Waller posed.
Bate hit a big double clothesline on Waller and Theory. However, when he tried to follow-up and eliminate them, Ludwig Kaiser knocked him to the apron. Bate attempted to skin-the-cat to re-enter, but Kaiser nailed him with a brutal dropkick in the face that knocked Bate to the floor. Dunne tried to avenge his fallen partner by going after Kaiser. Barrett noted that there were still about 18 wrestlers left in the ring. Escobar tried to shake Fenix’s hand, but Fenix tricked him and threw Escobar out. Otis lifted up his partner Akira Tozawa and launched him at The Creed Brother. It backfired though, as they caught Tozawa and threw him over the top rope to eliminate him from the match. The crowed booed.
In a big spot, Otis gained revenge for Tozawa by clotheslining both Julius and Brutus Creed over the tope rope. However, Otis’s momentum carried him over as well, thus eliminating himself. The crowd erupted in a sustained “Otis” chant. Andrade threw out Waller and Theory with ease. The LWO and Fenix ganged up on Chad Gable and threw him out. Joaquin Wilde leaped to the top rope, but Nakamura kick him off to the outside. Wilde had an awkward landing. As Cruz Del Toro went for a springboard maneuver, Kross intercepted and knocked him to the outside with a big punch. Dragon Lee snuck up behind Kross and eliminated him. The crowd somewhat curiously booed Kross’s elimination. Nakamura immediately did the same thing to try to throw Lee out, but Lee escaped. Shortly after Lee returned to the ring, Nakamura caught him and suplexed him from the ring to the floor. Lee was eliminated.
There were seven men left in the match, including Kaiser, Miz, Dunne, Fenix, Hayes, Andrade, and Nakamura. Dunne backdropped Kaiser up and over, but Kaiser was able to hang on. Dunne locked in a guillotine on Kaiser the ropes and pulled him down until Kaiser fell to the floor. Kaiser was eliminated. At this point, Hayes and Miz were both standing on the apron trying to survive. Miz helped out Hayes by rolling him back into the ring. But it cost Miz because he let his guard down and ate a dropkick from Dunne. The Miz was eliminated. Hayes retaliated and promptly threw out Dunne. Four men were left.
Fenix, Nakamura, Andrade, and Hayes circled each other. Nakamura squared off with Fenix while Hayes and Andrade exchanged blows. Nakamura with a big suplex on Fenix. Nakamura missed a Kinshasa on Andrade. Andrade hit Nakamura with a big dropkick that knocked Nakamura up and over the top rope to the floor. Nakamura was eliminated. Fenix threw Andrade and Hayes to the apron and came close to winning the match. Fenix showed off his “reverse 619” move. Fenix was showing off his unique athleticism, until out of nowhere El Grande Americano jumped up on the apron, pulling Fenix off and throwing him to the floor. Fenix was eliminated. It was down to Hayes and Andrade. The trophy was shown.
Hayes and Andrade countered several maneuvers. The announcers reminded the viewers of the great series of matches that Hayes and Andrade had in 2024 to determine the #1 contender for the U.S title. Both men were down in the ring. Hayes hit a suplex into a cutter. Hayes tried to throw Andrade out, but Andrade reversed, throwing Hayes up onto the ropes. Hayes held onto the top rope from the inside. Andrade jumped onto the rope next to him and attempted to grab Hayes. But Hayes jumped back and flipped Andrade from the inside to the outside. Andrade fell all the way to the floor.
WINNER: Carmelo Hayes in 15:00.
(Corbridge’s Analysis: It was a typical battle royal where very little happens throughout most of the match. El Grande Americano interfering to eliminate Fenix was interesting and make me wonder if Fenix will seek revenge at Wrestlemania. That’s not a prediction, that’s a… yeah you know the rest. Good to see Hayes get a “big” win. Hopefully it leads to more of a push for him because he deserves it. It also seemed like Miz and Hayes could be turning babyface now.)
– The video package aired showing highlights and commentary about the Wrestlemania 28 Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and the Undertaker. Triple H will be inducted into the Hall of Fame later tonight after Smackdown.
– They replayed Charlotte Flair’s surprise attack on Tiffany Stratton from last week. Then, they showed a pre-taped segment where Wade Barrett interviewed Charlotte. Barrett asked Charlotte why things had gotten so ugly between her and Stratton. Charlotte said it was because they both have a chip on their shoulder. She added that no matter how they got there, she’d glad that the fans are invested in the match now.
(Corbridge’s Analysis: I will admit that I’m more excited about their match because of the real-life issues that were introduced into the story. However, I don’t like Charlotte blatantly touting it like she did. That wasn’t supposed to be the story for this match, so I wish they’d been able to generate interest without stooping to “real” personal attacks that many fans probably didn’t understand.)
– Tessitore mentioned that Tama Tonga was taken to a local medical facility, due to L.A. Knight attack in the parking lot earlier tonight. A graphic showed that Knight was scheduled to wrestle Solo Sikoa later tonight. Rhea Ripley was shown walking backstage toward the Gorilla position. They went to commercial at 48:00 minutes, so it wasn’t exactly the first hour commercial-free after all. [c]
– Rhea Ripley entered as Tessitore noted that when she does “the air changes in the arena.” Ripley admitted that it was her fault she lost the Women’s World Championship because she allowed Bianca Belair to distract her. Ripley confidently stated that she would walk out of Wrestlemania as a 3-time Women’s World Champion. The current Women’s World Champion IO Sky made her entrance. Before she could speak, Bianca Belair’s music played and the final participant in the triple threat match skipped down to the ring.
The crowd heavily booed Belair. Belair acknowledged the boos. Belair said she would win at Wrestlemania. Naomi’s music played. Naomi had a mic in her hand on stage. She walked to the ring while asking Belair why she hadn’t talked to her tonight, or why she ignored her text messages. Naomi said she wanted to handle their business in private, but Belair forced her to air their dirty laundry in public. Naomi was completely covered in yellow “caution” tape. Naomi again pointed out that Jade Cargill was never there for Belair. That prompted Cargill to come down to the ring and the two friends looked at each other and we entered the second hour.
[HOUR TWO]
Ripley stepped between them and said “Jade, this isn’t about you.” Naomi pushed Cargill into Ripley, knocking Ripley to the mat. Sky was just standing there holding a mic and her championship while the other women fought around her. Finally, Sky climbed to the top rope and moonsaulted onto the women below. Naomi ran off. The rest of the women were down except Sky who pointed at the Wrestlemania sign.
(Corbridge’s Analysis: It was good to see Ripley finally take accountability for losing the title. Once again Sky stood tall while others fought around her. There are many similarities between this triple threat match and Punk vs. Reigns vs. Rollins. All signs seem to be pointing to Sky and Rollins winning. But I don’t think both results will happen. I believe Belair will win and officially turn heel soon, even if it isn’t at Wrestlemania. There has already been a noticeable attitude shift and the crowd started to respond in kind. Belair will ultimately side back with Naomi and apologize for ever doubting her.)
– American Made (minus Ivy Nile) taunted Rey Fenix in the back, who was still reeling from El Grande Americano’s heinous attack during the battle royal. Dragon Lee and Rey Mysterio came to Fenix’s defense. Mysterio challenged American Made to a six-man tag match tonight.
– Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns, made their way to the ring for the next match. [c]
– They showed a graphic to confirm that the six-man tag match of Rey Mysterio, Rey Fenix, and Dragon Lee vs. American Made was official for tonight. The WWE Tag Team Champions The Street Profits made their entrance.
(2) THE STREET PROFITS (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) vs. MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) –WWE Tag Team Title match
Shelley and Sabin attacked the Profits before they could enter the ring. The Machine Guns were in control early, hitting a tag-elbow on Montez Ford. Ford fought back with some impressive back elbows and a big double clothesline on both Guns. Angelo Dawkins tagged in and hit the spinning Stinger splash on Sabin. Ford with a blockbuster on Sabin off Ford’s shoulders. They cut to a commercial but stayed with the action on split-screen. [c]
Shelley made a less-than-hot tag when they came back from the break. Sabin was on fire though, first taking out Dawkins with a soccer kick from the apron and then hitting Ford with a huge dropkick. Shelley tagged in. Sabin climbed to the top and hit a missile dropkick onto Ford, then into a flatliner from Shelley. That got a two count. Shelley had Ford up on his shoulders, but Ford wriggled free and made a blind tag on Dawkins. Dawkins came in and leveled Sabin with his version of a Pounce, leading to a near-fall. Ford tagged in and missed a top rope dropkick. The Guns regained momentum and hit their ”Facial” tag maneuver. The Guns were on fire until Dawkins disrupted things. Ford ran from one corner of the ring and vaulted himself over the turnbuckle, flipping onto the Guns on the outside. Suddenly, DIY’s Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa came from the crowd and attacked the Profits and Guns. Gargano and Ciampa grabbed the tag titles and ran away down the ramp.
WINNERS: No contest in 10:00 – The Street Profits remain the WWE Tag Team Champions.
(Corbridge’s Analysis: It was fun match that ended in predictable fashion.)
– The United States Champion Chelsea Green, accompanied by the Secret Hervice, spoke to Smackdown General Manager Nick Aldis in his office. Green wanted to file an official complaint about the referee who counted her out of her match last week on Smackdown. Aldis agreed that there had been an injustice last week. He decided to give Zelina Vega another match against Green later tonight. Aldis added that Piper Niven and Alba Fyre would also be banned from ringside.
– Randy Orton was shown walking in the back with a big grin on his face. [c]
– DIY were trying to escape the arena with the tag team titles. Nick Aldis intercepted them and demanded that they hand over the belts. The Machine Guns and The Street Profits showed up to argue too. Aldis proclaimed that he’d had enough and announced that on next week’s Smackdown there will be a TLC match for the WWE Tag Team Championships.
(Corbridge’s Analysis: It’s a shame that they apparently didn’t have time for this match at Wrestlemania.)
– Randy Orton’s music played and “The Viper” slowly made his way to the ring. He said that he still doesn’t have an opponent for Wrestlemania. He said that there is no way he’s sitting out this year especially because this would be his 20th Wrestlemania match. Orton told the crowd that he would show up to Wrestlemania ready to wrestle and dared anyone that owned a pair of wrestling boots to answer his open challenge. He concluded by saying that regardless of who accepts his challenge they will fall victim to the RKO.
– Footage was aired from the Wrestlemania Kickoff show that aired earlier today. Wrestlemania opponents Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre got into a fight during it. Byron Saxton started to ask Priest about it in the backstage area. Priest interrupted and said that no one, including Mcintyre, is ready for the violence Priest will bring to Wrestlemania. He said that he was going to make McIntyre wish he’d been “future endeavored…again” and that he would bury McIntyre.
– Zelina Vega made her entrance. She was wearing an outfit that resembles flames shooting out of her shoulders. [c]
– Another vignette was shown, similar to the creepy ones that have aired the last couple weeks. It ended by showing the date 4/25/25.
(Corbridge’s Analysis: It appears to be a safe bet that Aleister/Malakai Black will be re-debuting in WWE on April 25. I’m taking this as a hint that Black will NOT be Orton’s Wrestlemania opponent either. )
(3) ZELINA VEGA vs. CHELSEA GREEN
– The United States Champion Chelsea Green made her entrance without her Secret Hervice. This was a rematch from last week’s Smackdown. Barrett complained about the official that counted Green out last week, when she was too busy complaining at the announcers’ desk.
Green gained the early advantage. Vega tried to battle back, but Green stomped that out. The crowd was quiet. Green dragged Vega to the outside and threw her into the barrier. Green got back into the ring quickly to break the count. Then she rolled out and ran at Vega, but Vega backdropped her over the barrier. Green crawled back to ringside and both women rolled back into the ring at the count of nine.
Vega hit successive clotheslines, but Green countered a 619 attempt with a kick. Green attempted a superplex, but Vega reversed it into a super code red for a three count and the victory.
WINNER: Zelina Vega via pinfall in 4:00.
L.A. Knight was shown walking backstage because his match was up next. [c]
– Following the break, The United States Champion brought the fans to their feet as he entered the arena. Knight talked about how Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu like to attack in numbers. But Knight took out Tonga earlier and he was about to take out Solo. Knight said that Fatu would eat a BFT tomorrow night at Wrestlemania.
(4) L.A. KNIGHT vs. SOLO SIKOA
– The bell rang before Solo Sikoa had even made it all the way down to the ring. Knight met him halfway and attacked, but it backfired on Knight. Solo took control, ramming Knight into the steel steps as they went to a break [c]
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Smackdown: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
[HOUR THREE]
The announcers reminded that Tonga was still at the medical facility as a result of Knight’s parking lot attack earlier tonight. Solo hit a neckbreaker on Knight, followed by a big knee to the gut. Knight rallied with a series of right hands. He gained momentum with an explosive DDT. Without warning, Jacob Fatu attacked Knight from behind. The ref called for the bell.
– Solo and Fatu ganged up on Knight until Braun Strowman ran down and made the save for Knight. Nick Aldis came out on stage and said that the four men would wrestle in a tag team match right now. The tag match began as they went to a picture-in-picture break [c]
WINNER: No Contest in 6:00.
(5) L.A. KNIGHT & BRAUN STROWMAN vs. SOLO SIKOA & JACOB FATU
Knight tagged in Strowman when they came back from the break. Strowman cleaned house in the ring. Then, he went to the outside and hit his Strowman Express shoulder blocks on both Solo and Fatu. Back in the ring, Fatu regained control and hit a DDT and a seated senton on Strowman. Fatu tagged in Solo.
Solo held Strowman in a headlock to weaken him, then he tagged Fatu back in. Fatu wrenched on Strowman’s neck as Knight reached for a tag. Strowman powered out with a back suplex. Strowman made the tag. Knight came in hit a big powerslam on Solo, followed by a leaping elbow for a two count. Fatu made the save. Strowman went for another Strowman Express, but Fatu dodged and Strowman went flying over the announcer desk. Back in the ring Solo attempted to hit Knight with a Samoan Spike, but Knight ducked it and hit a PFT for the pin and the win.
WINNERS: L.A Knight & Braun Strowman via pinfall in 7:00.
(Corbridge’s Analysis: It was fine for what it was. The Knight vs. Fatu match as Wrestlemania feels like one of the more unpredictable ones, in my opinion. I have a hard time seeing Fatu losing, especially not in a clean fashion)
– Barrett interviewed WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton in a similar fashion to the earlier interview with Charlotte. Stratton said that she had felt bullied a few weeks ago when Charlotte railroaded her during their picture-in-picture interview segment. So that was why she got personal last week during their face-to-face. Stratton said that no matter what, now Charlotte must respect her. Stratton said she was standing up to a bully and that at Wrestlemania she would walk in and out as champion.
– Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee made their entrance for the next match. [c]
(6) REY MYSTERIO & DRAGON LEE & REY FENIX vs. AMERICAN MADE (Chad Gable & Julius Creed & Brutus Creed)
When they returned, Fenix was in the ring. American Made entered the arena to “You Suck” chants.
The match started with Fenix and Brutus. Fenix got a quick near-fall, then tagged in Lee. Lee got another near-fall and tore off his LWO shirt. Julius in and took control of the match over Lee. Lee recovered and hit a somersault to the outside on Julius and then a cross-body on Julius for a two count. Mysterio tried to catch Gable, who ended up sneaking in and hitting a belly to back suplex on Lee. All three American Made members hit simultaneous diving headbutts on Lee as they went to a picture-in-picture break [c]
American Made was still in total control. The Creed Brother hit a Brutus Ball from the top for yet another near-fall on Lee. Brutus and Julius climbed to the top for an attempted double suplex on Lee. Lee fought them off and they were hanging by their legs from the ropes. Gable tried to climb over them, but the same thing happened to him. Lee came off the top with a stomp on Gable that knocked all three American Made members to the mat. Lee was able to finally tag out to Fenix.
Fenix came in high energy, hitting his reverse 619 followed by a superkick on Julius. Julius fought back by launching Fenix with an overhead suplex. Julius whipped Fenix hard into the turnbuckle. Fenix up to the top and hit a springboard maneuver on Julius. Fenix hit a steppingstone hurricanrana on Gable. Then, Fenix ran across the top rope and hit Gable with a Goodbye Amigo kick, sending Gable tumbling to the floor. Back inside the ring Lee hit an Operation Dragon on Julius. Fenix came off the top rope with a Meteora for a three count on Julius. Mysterio never officially entered the match.
WINNERS: Rey Fenix, Dragon Lee, and Rey Mysterio by pinfall in 10:00.
(Corbridge’s Analysis: That was a very fun match for the time it was allotted. Fenix and Lee are so quick. Julius took a beating for 90 percent of the match. I will continue my one-man campaign to bring back the WCW Cruiserweight Title. J.J. Dillion may not be taking my calls for various reasons. But I will find a way. If you have any suggestions, please call me at 1-900-909…never mind don’t do that.)
– A video package was shown that chronicled the Wrestlemania triple threat match between Seth Rollins, C.M. Punk, and Roman Reigns. It was set to the song “Sail Into the Black” by the band Machine Head. [c]
– The WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes made his entrance as the fans sang his song. His Wrestlemania opponent John Cena made his way to the ring before Rhodes could say a word. Barrett called Cena a piece of garbage. Lots of “Let’s Go Cena/Cena Sucks” chants.
Rhodes was about to speak, but Cena interrupted with “Shut your mouth kid.” Cena said that this will be his 20th and final Wrestlemania. Cena said that no one has ever had the courage to end their career the way he is, and that there is no way to prepare to face a man that knows he’s going to die. Cena claimed that the fans don’t believe any of what Cena is doing is real. They believe there will be one more match. But Cena said that other wrestlers need the people because without them they are left alone with their pathetic lives. So, they come crawling back. Cena said he doesn’t need a single, damn one of them.
Cena stated that the only reason he’s here is to take the Championship away from Rhodes and the fans forever. Cena said Rhodes will lose because he cares about the fans. Cena said he came out tonight because he wanted to share one more thing. Cena said that he knew after he won the Elimination Chamber that it would be impossible to defeat Rhodes at Wrestlemania. But then Rhodes turned down the Rock and Cena knew that Rhodes didn’t stand a chance because he’s too concerned about doing what the fans want. Cena reiterated that the fans don’t matter but said that Rhodes was too weak to understand that. He said that Rhodes has a choice at Wrestlemania. Rhodes has to either do what the fans think is right, or he can win. Cena finished said that on Sunday he will make Cody somebody by either forcing him to realize he needs to sever ties with the fans, or someone who couldn’t do it and blew it. In that case, according to Cena, Rhodes will show that he doesn’t have the balls of the “last real champion.”
Rhodes began speaking and the crowd erupted in boos. They continued to boo as Rhodes spoke. Rhodes pointed out that Cena no longer knows the names of all the WWE staff members. Rhodes called Cena overreacted. Rhodes laid into Cena hard by saying that Cena “is overbearing, out of touch, out of time, his face is melting wax, has a stack-of-dimes for a neck, spindly-ass legs, and is paler than Sting at Starrcade 1997.” Rhodes also mentioned that it’s 2025 and Cena still can’t wrestle. The crowd at all that up. That led to “You Can’t Wrestle” and “Cody Rhodes” chants. Cena called the crowd idiots. Cena attempted to hit an AA on Rhodes, but Rhodes escaped and hit Cena with a Cross Rhodes. Rhodes held the title high, pointed at the Wrestlemania sign, and then made his way down the ramp.
(Corbridge’s Analysis: One of the biggest criticisms against Cena’s heel turn was that he was turning on the fans, but that it had little to do with Cody Rhodes. Now, Cena managed to tie it all together by saying that Rhodes’ weakness IS the fans. That puts Rhodes and the fans squarely on the same side. It’s very interesting because if Cena wins the title at Wrestlemania, he will likely tell the fans they can blame themselves. It will be the fans’ fault that Rhodes lost. That cements Rhodes and the babyface and solidifies Cena as the heel against everyone. Brilliant. In addition, Cena finally explained how Rhodes not accepting The Rock’s offer swayed Cena’s decision too. I thought the explanation was more than acceptable.
Conversely, Rhodes’ retort was one targeted snide comment after another that undoubtedly left many fans in the crowd and at home with their jaws hanging open. The lines about Cena’s face being melted wax and being paler than Sting at Starrcade were particularly cutting. It seemed like initially the fans were booing Rhodes, which was confusing. But if they were it didn’t matter much because Rhodes won them back in spades by the end.)
– The announcers ran down the full Wrestlemania Card again.
– Rhodes held his WWE Undisputed Championship high on the entrance stage as they went off the air.