Stephanie Vaquer v Liv Morgan (Women’s World Championship Match) (1.75/5)
The wrestling world had high hopes going into this match. Only for those hopes to be dashed in under 7 minutes. This was supposed to be the meeting of two great wrestlers on the Raw roster, and two women who were going to spearhead the division going forward. The program leading up to the championship match gave it the big match feel that WWE loves to promote. However, it was nothing close to what anyone would have expected.
The time allotted for Liv Morgan and Stephanie Vaquer was a joke. It was fast-paced, sure, but Morgan and Vaquer were given much time to create. The involvement of Judgment Day should have been a hurdle for Vaquer to clear, not a roadblock.
Liv Morgan is a character that could have survived a loss here, but Stephanie Vaquer is another story. WWE has pushed her to the moon, and her first WrestleMania title defense should have ended much differently.
Cody Rhodes v Randy Orton (WWE Championship Match) (3.75/5)
The inclusion of Pat McAfee in this program was not the greatest of ideas. The audience didn’t respond well to it, and McAfee only got the go away heat that no wrestler wants. It was nice to see McAfee and Jelly Roll get their big spots out of the way early, even if it wasn’t the last we saw of Pat McAfee
The first half of this match was dying from the pace. Orton and Rhodes work in a more methodical style, but they were taking things too far. The time between spots was far too long, and the crowd was getting lost in the action. Luckily, when Orton did the blade job off the ring post, the action really ramped up.
The biggest part of which was the crowd turning on Cody Rhodes, and the American Nightmare leaning into it. He recognized the crowd’s hatred and played into it incredibly well. Using the low blow that was used so many times against him was a nice touch.
Once Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes started trading their finishes, the WWE Championship match kicked into full gear. It was a very entertaining flurry as both men hit all the big moves they could, producing some very believable false finishes.
It’s a shame that WWE went with McAfee coming back out and more or less costing Randy Orton the win. Why would WWE align these two only for it to devolve in a few weeks? It was an end that halted the momentum of what was a very entertaining match.
