WWE

WWE got the result right in the main event of WrestleMania 41 by having a heel John Cena beat Cody Rhodes for the promotion's top title. 

Unfortunately, everything else around the match was historically bad. 

And frankly? Point the finger right at The Rock. 

The fact that the match between Cena and Rhodes was so-so wasn't all that shocking, considering the part-time status of one of the combatants. But all could have been forgiven if it didn't devolve into a trainwreck that put Travis Scott of all people in a deciding role. 

Once Scott’s music hit and it was apparent it wasn't going to blend into The Rock's music, signaling the musician would be going out on his lonesome, one could feel the air being sucked out of Allegiant Stadium. 

Scott was blatantly a stand-in for Rock, from interfering with the referee to getting physical with Rhodes to straight-up swinging the result of the match. 

It absolutely boggles the mind that The Final Boss couldn't be bothered to show up for a 10-minute spot or less and take one bump, just one year removed from outright competing at 'Mania in a main event. 

Point blank, if Rock was a last-minute audible and couldn't attend, rather than Scott, WWE could have thrown out Solo Sikoa or somebody in the Bloodline's orbit to produce a much more satisfying scenario.

It could have at least boosted the heel status of whoever played Scott's role. Fans know Triple H is better than this, too. 

Instead? It feels like WWE tried to get way too meta after whispers about Scott injuring Rhodes' eye the last time they encountered each other. It feels like WWE wanted to lean into that and its budding bro-sphere of celebrity influence now that it's on Netflix streaming. 

Consider the story now. As it stands, Cena sold his soul to The Rock so he could…get a rapper's help in the main event of WrestleMania? There's something worth exploring in a fading legend knowing he can't keep up with the top guys anymore. But one would think Cena would seek out, say, help from professional wrestlers who wouldn't mind aligning with him, not an entertainer. 

Which is a shame, because Cena's historic win, after decades of fan requests for his heel turn, deserved better. It's a shame because Rhodes ended up looking like an absolute dork for the umpteenth time, refusing to use a weapon handed to him by the opposition, not long after viewers saw him going wild with weapons in fights with Kevin Owens and others. 

And it's made all the stinkier by the frankly horrific build to this 'Mania across the board. Worst of all was a year-plus rumbling from segments of the fanbase that The Rock had some masterplan in place. Remember him showing up to a mid-level PLE Bad Blood and patting his goosebumps and holding up a few fingers? 

Just call it down the middle, too—one doesn't need to zoom in to see Rock's fingerprints all over the place. Not all that long ago, he was showing up to take Rhodes' Royal Rumble win and main-event 'Mania, only to backtrack, force an awkward tag match at The Show of Shows and then claim it was all part of the plan and/or a response to fan feedback. 

Wrestling fans remember. There's no covering for the silliness now in this blurred-lines era. The headlines of Scott's involvement will fade and so will the once-a-year viewers. What WWE will be left with is a fanbase rolling its eyes if it tries to play this off as just one piece of a bigger plan. 

If this was all part of the "plan" to make fans dislike Cena and outright hate the board member Dwayne Johnson, it straight-up tanked a main event of WrestleMania in the process. 

So, maybe this was intended from the start. But it's such a downgrade from the line-blurring, meta and quality long-form storytelling of the Bloodline saga with Roman Reigns for years that it almost feels like some lesser promoter is putting this story out right now. 

If there's any saving grace, it's that Cena's run from here should be fun. There will be encounters with the likes of Randy Orton and CM Punk before he drops the title at a SummerSlam, or perhaps even next year's WrestleMania to atone for this one.

However, the fact that we should get together and collectively agree to pretend the whole Rock and Scott involvement thing never happened is a pretty bad sign. Sunday night was a historic dud and a continuation of misguided booking, with one culprit in the decision-making process creating chaos once more.

Rejoice, though, wrestling fans. If this is how WWE wants to blend its top scene with Netflix-celebrity stuff and involve (or not) The Rock from here, the likes of Seth Rollins, Reigns and Paul Heyman are elsewhere putting on weekend-stealing and all-time matches and stories.

John Cena is going out in style.

The longtime wrestling superstar won the WWE Undisputed championship at Wrestlemania on Sunday night, defeating Cody Rhodes and continuing a farewell tour that will conclude with his retirement at the end of the year.

It was Cena's 17th WWE championship belt, a new record that surpassed Ric Flair. And the legend himself was quick to congratulate Cena on the accomplishment:

Before Sunday, Cena hadn't been a WWE champion since 2017, largely operating as a part-time performer while he also advanced his acting career.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin made an appearance at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas on Sunday evening.

Austin's theme music sent the Allegiant Stadium crowd into a frenzy. He then appeared on a four-wheeler, riding to the ring before driving around the squared circle and halting the ATV into a stop after running into a ringside barricade.

Stone Cold then got on the mic, hyped up the crowd and announced the attendance of 63,226 for Sunday and 124,693 total for the sold-out two-day event. He also pretended to count the crowd to chants of "What?" before later enjoying himself by drinking beer, as he likes to do in front of adoring fans.

Stone Cold is an all-time pro wrestling legend, an anti-hero who served as one of the dominant figures of the Attitude Era. The 60-year-old is a six-time world champion who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.

Austin hasn't wrestled full time since 2003, but he did make a one-time appearance at WrestleMania 38, when he defeated Kevin Owens.

Understandably, Austin is retired at this stage, and he said as much in an interview with Pat McAfee on Friday.

His time in the ring may be over, but Austin is still capable of firing up a crowd any time that glass breaks.

Randy Orton's 20th appearance at WrestleMania was a successful one, as he defeated TNA's Joe Hendry after issuing an open challenge.

The TNA world champion made his shocking WrestleMania debut on Sunday night, stepping up to challenge Orton—and he was met with a thunderous pop from the Las Vegas crowd.

Despite the electric debut, the match was short-lived. As Hendry celebrated a bit too early with a pose to the camera, Orton struck with an RKO out of nowhere, securing the pinfall victory and reminding everyone why he's a 14-time world champion.

Orton was originally scheduled to wrestle Kevin Owens on The Grandest Stage of Them All. The Viper returned to television at Elimination Chamber after a four-month absence to help Sami Zayn after KO defeated him in an unsanctioned match.

Owens announced on the April 4 episode of SmackDown that he would be unable to compete at The Show of Shows due to a neck injury that required surgery.

On the go-home episode of SmackDown, Orton said he would still be competing at WrestleMania by issuing an open challenge to anyone willing to accept.

There had been rumblings in recent weeks about several stars either returning to or debuting in WWE very soon, so the open challenge got fans talking.

However, WWE pulled off a surprise masterclass by keeping Hendry's 'Mania debut under wraps, fueling speculation among fans that a full-time move to the main roster might be on the horizon. Hendry also appeared at the Royal Rumble but did not last long in the event.

This marked The Apex Predator's first victory at WrestleMania since 2022, when he and Matt Riddle defeated The Street Profits and Alpha Academy to retain the Raw tag team titles.

Orton is now the third superstar in WWE history with at least 20 matches at WrestleMania. The Undertaker leads the list with 27, followed by Triple H at 23.

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