WWE WrestleMania 38, Day 1 results: Rhodes returns, Charlotte retains, Stone Cold wins
The Day 1 of WWE WrestleMania 38 was held on Saturday. Seven matches took place, with some of them having favourable results, as we take a look here.
It is the most stupendous two nights in World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE's) WrestleMania history. Day 1 of WrestleMania 38 took place at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday night. Seven matches were held on this day, with some of them producing favourable results, as we take a look.
The Usos defeat Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs (SmackDown Tag Team Championship)
Nakamura and Boogs were hyped heading into the match and started strong briefly, only for the Usos to quickly take control. Although once Boogas was tagged in, it looked like he could lead his team to a win, only for his knee to buckle after he tried to lift both Usos at once. It effectively became a handicap match, with the Usos quickly ending it and retaining the titles via pinfall.
Drew McIntyre defeated Happy Corbin
McIntyre was not happy after Corbin's comments about the former's late mother on SmackDown last Friday. He went after Corbin right away, and after some brief exchanges of domination between the two, the Scottish prevailed and pinned Corbin. At the same time, the former also became the first wrestler in WWE to kick out of the latter's finishing move, End of Days.
The Miz and Logan Paul defeat The Mysterios
Although the Mysterios were the favourites to see this through, due to Rey's veteran experience, Miz and Paul were technically superior. The match had some close moments, but Miz and Paul dominated mostly and notched up a relatively easy win. Paul was impressive with his wrestling skills, but what was even more interesting was to see Miz's betrayal of Paul after the match, as Miz wanted the spotlight, setting up a future feud between the two.
Bianca Belair beats Becky Lynch (Raw Women's Championship)
The intense rivalry since SummerSlam last year culminated here, as both looked to end the match soon. However, it became prolonged, with Becky hardly allowing Bianca to gain control, thanks to the former's veteran experience. Nevertheless, Bianca overcame all odds through sheer determination, and all it took was one Kiss of Death to pin the champion.
Cody Rhodes defeats Seth Rollins
The rumours and reports turned out to be accurate, as the long-awaited return of Rhodes finally happened. He turned out to be the hand-picked opponent by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon for Rollins. As he made his usual entrance from the independent circuit and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), the fans at the venue went ecstatic. Considering the match, it was highly competitive, with close calls going both ways. Rhodes dug deep and planted Rollins with four of his finish manoeuvre, CrossRhodes, to pin the former World and Universal Champion.
Charlotte Flair beats Ronda Rousey (Smackdown Women's Championship)
The heated rivalry pinnacled in a match at WrestleMania 38. It was a wild and intense competitive encounter as expected, with both engaging in a quality wrestling match. However, it suffered a controversial ending after the referee in the match was knocked out momentarily, as Charlotte stole a win to run away by retaining her title when she had already tapped out to Ronda's armbar while the referee was out.
Stone Cold Steve Austin defeats Kevin Owens
It was supposed to be a standard talk show. But, Owens managed to convince Austin to fight against him in a No Hold Barred match. Although the latter thought for a while, he eventually agreed to it. And, to everyone's delight, he dominated throughout the significant course of the match. While Austin even kicked out of a Stunner, Owens could not as the former pinned to earn a win in his first match in 19 years. After the match, he gave another Stunner to Owens, followed by one to commentator Byron Saxton, and drank beers aplenty to send fans home content.