The main event of night one saw Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson competing fully in WWE for the first time in 11 years, as he teamed with his ‘cousin’ Roman Reigns to beat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. Due to The Rock and Reigns’s victory, the latter’s Universal Championship defence against Rhodes – the main event of night two – was ‘anything goes’, meaning plenty of interferences.
And the most notable interferences came from WWE legends John Cena and The Undertaker, who thwarted The Rock and enabled Rhodes to beat Reigns – marking the end a four-year title reign.
Re-live updates and results from both nights of WrestleMania 40:
WrestleMania 40 LIVE – Night One: Rhea Ripley vs Becky Lynch
Ripley with a splash from the top rope. 1, 2, no 3! Lynch kicks out...
The pair fight on, and Ripley uses the Riptide to smash Lynch into the corner! One more Riptide in the middle of the ring, and Ripley pins Lynch!
And still! Ripley retains her world title, as her reign passes the year mark!
Alex Pattle7 April 2024 00:37
WrestleMania 40 LIVE – Night One: Rhea Ripley vs Becky Lynch
Lynch with a leg drop from the top rope, but Ripley reverses with a leg lock! Lynch is able to roll up Ripley, and the referee counts... but the champion kicks out.
The pair stand, and Ripley tries her finisher – the Riptide – but Lynch reverses and slams the Aussie! 1... 2... NO! Another kickout by Ripley.
The pair keep battling, and Ripley manages to land the Riptide this time! Lynch crashes to the mat, but she’s able to kick out of the resulting pinfall – barely!
Ripley scales the ring post, but Lynch races after her. Suplex from the top rope by Lynch! She immediately follows up with an armbar, but Ripley stands and lifts the Irishwoman... The pair flip over the top rope, but Ripley is somehow still holding Lynch aloft!
She slams Lynch and then rolls her back into the ring...
Alex Pattle7 April 2024 00:32
WrestleMania 40 LIVE – Night One: Rhea Ripley vs Becky Lynch
Lynch with a tornado DDT, springing off the middle rope. She covers Ripley, who kicks out.
The women move to the outside, where Lynch suplexes Ripley into the barricade! She drags the Aussie back into the ring before jumping from the top rope with a leg drop! Ripley kicks out of another pin.
Another aerial move by Lynch, but Ripley shows off her strength to catch the challenger and slam her down! Then a huge boot to the face by Ripley, who covers Lynch – but the Irishwoman kicks out.
As the pair are lying on the mat, Lynch goes for an armbar, but Ripley is able to stand and slam Lynch again! She lifts the challenger again for another powerbomb, then one more! Lynch kicks out of the ensuing pinfall attempt.
Lynch stands and is hit with some headbutts and another boot by Ripley. Lynch with another kickout, and Ripley shouts in frustration. A slapping contest follows, before Ripley charges at Lynch but crashes into the ring post!
Alex Pattle7 April 2024 00:27
WrestleMania 40 LIVE – Night One: Rhea Ripley vs Becky Lynch
Lynch has reportedly been unwell this week, suffering from strep throat. She and Ripley circle each other then lock up. Ripley, the bigger athlete, shoves Lynch to the mat, but the Irishwoman stands and slaps the champion. Ripley responds in kind.
The pair fight by the ropes, before Lynch moves onto the apron and scales the corner. She leaps from the top rope with a dropkick! Ripley is soon back up, and the women trade strikes in the centre of the ring, before Ripley delivers a couple of impressive slams.
Ripley goes for a suplex, holding Lynch above her for some time, but the challenger reverses with a roll-up pin attempt! Ripley kicks out. In the ensuing striking exchange, Ripley lands a dropkick.
It’s Ripley’s turn to climb the corner and leap from the top rope, but Lynch reverses with an arm drag.
Alex Pattle7 April 2024 00:21
WrestleMania 40 LIVE – Night One
WrestleMania 40 begins with Rhea Ripley vs Becky Lynch!
Australian Ripley defends her world title against Lynch, a former world champion herself.
Ireland’s Lynch emerges first, after a recording plays of the superstar reading an excerpt from her autobiography (which was published a matter of days ago).
Now here comes Ripley, with a band – Motionless In White – playing her entrance music live!
Rhea Ripley (left) and Becky Lynch (WWE)
Alex Pattle7 April 2024 00:16
WrestleMania 40 LIVE – Night One
Here we go, then... WrestleMania 40, night one, is under way!
The US national anthem is sung by Coco Jones to get things started. “U-S-A” chants follow in Philly...
And Triple H’s music hits! He makes his way to the ring and plays to the crowd.
“Man, I live for this,” he says. “Welcome to a new time, welcome to a new era, welcome to WrestleMania!”
A short and sweet intro from the former multi-time world champion, who is now WWE’s COO and head of creative.
Alex Pattle7 April 2024 00:00
WrestleMania 40 LIVE – Night One
Here is the full card for WrestleMania 40 – not only tonight’s matches, but also night two’s contests:
Night one
The Rock (left) with Roman Reigns (centre) and Paul Heyman (WWE via YouTube)
The Bloodline (The Rock and Roman Reigns) vs Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins
Rhea Ripley (C) vs Becky Lynch - WWE Women’s World Championship
Gunther (C) vs Sami Zayn - WWE Intercontinental Championship
Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso
The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Damian Priest) (C) vs #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) vs The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) vs New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate) – Undisputed WWE Tag-Team Championship ladder match
Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Naomi vs Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka, and Kairi Sane) - Six-woman tag-team match
Rey Mysterio and Andrade vs Santos Escobar and “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio - Tag-team match
Night two
In a rematch of WrestleMania 39’s night-two main event, Cody Rhodes will challenge Reigns for the Universal Title (WWE)
Roman Reigns (C) vs Cody Rhodes - WWE Undisputed Universal Championship
Seth Rollins (C) vs Drew McIntyre - WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Iyo Sky (C) vs Bayley - WWE Women’s Championship
Logan Paul (C) vs Randy Orton vs Kevin Owens - United States Championship
LA Knight vs AJ Styles
The Pride (Bobby Lashley, Angelo Dawkins, and Montez Ford) vs The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Akam, and Rezar) - Six-man Philadelphia Street Fight
The main event of night one sees Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson competing fully in WWE for the first time in 11 years, as he teams with his ‘cousin’ Roman Reigns to face Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. If The Rock and Reigns win, the latter’s Universal Championship defence against Rhodes – the main event of night two – will be ‘anything goes’, meaning plenty of weapons and interferences.
Elsewhere on night one, Rhea Ripley defends the Women’s World Championship against fellow megastar Becky Lynch, while record-breaking Intercontinental Champion Gunther puts his title on the line against Sami Zayn. There will also be a six-team ladder match for the Undisputed Tag-Team Titles, and brothers Jimmy and Jey Uso will go head to head in a match years in the making.
Follow along for all the build-up to the matches, followed by live updates and results.
The Rock will headline WrestleMania on night one, teaming with his ‘cousin’ Roman Reigns (WWE Admin)
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