WrestleMania has come to a close with John Cena making history winning the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championship for a record-breaking 17th time.
The win over Cody Rhodes, which came following a surprise interference from rapper Travis Scott, means Cena has overtaken Ric Flair by winning more world titles than anyone in the history of the company.
Cena previously announced he would retire at the end of 2025, meaning this was the final WrestleMania ever for the most decorated wrestler to ever set foot in a WWE ring (though most know never to say never in wrestling).
Other new champions were crowned amid further twists and surprises, but none more significant than the final match of the weekend.
It was a historic night for many reasons, not least that this was the first WrestleMania to air live on Netflix, where it could be watched by many of the firm’s 300 million subscribers around the world.
The company paid a pretty penny for the privilege – a 10 year $5bn (£4bn) deal to bring WWE’s weekly shows and monthly events to the streaming service (though not all territories get to see everything).
Netflix’s experience airing WWE shows since January – it says the first live show picked up just shy of five million views – seemed to pay dividends as WrestleMania aired largely without glitches.
And the firms had an even greater argument to make for its significance before the first bell was rung, when WWE announced it had acquired Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, one of the largest wrestling promotions in Mexico.
But fans will say all of that is fine and dandy – what matters is what happens between the ropes.
And on that front, there would be few who left disappointed.
A family affair
The show could be said to have two main events – one on Saturday and another on Sunday – and the first night’s show featured three of WWE’s biggest stars.
Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and CM Punk met in a match the company billed as generational, in no small part due to the 46-year-old Punk finally getting to his first WrestleMania main event.
The fans were firmly behind Punk to begin with, and the match lived up to the billing – a ferocious war with plenty of big moments and false finishes before a series of twists led to Rollins standing tall.
The weekend had kicked off with a feel-good story as Jey Uso defeated Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship, the other major title men battle for in WWE.
The more than 60,000 fans in attendance were not disappointed as Uso won his first ever world title to open the show on Saturday – in doing so, bettering the career achievements of his father, 90s and 00s wrestler Rikishi.
This was not the only moment celebrating legacy – Dominik Mysterio, the son of WWE legend Rey Mysterio, won the Intercontinental Championship to mark his first ever title in the company.
The title changes did not stop there, with the New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) beating War Raiders, and Jacob Fatu winning his first ever title in WWE by defeating the popular LA Knight for the United States Championship.
But the big moments were not limited to titles changing hands.
Lynch returns
It proved to be a massive weekend for WWE’s women, who struggled to put a foot wrong across title matches, rivalries and a major return for a fan favourite.
First, Becky Lynch, one of the most popular women to ever wrestle in the company, made a surprise return after a year out of action, with her appearance drawing tears from some in the live crowd.
Lynch’s return was a winning effort, picking up the Women’s Tag Team Championships along with Lyra Valkyria, defeating champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez.
WWE’s fans had already been treated to several excellent matches by this point, with Jade Cargill – who joined a year ago from rival company AEW – beating Naomi on Saturday before Tiffany Stratton faced Charlotte Flair in a fierce fight for the Women’s World Championship.
Stratton beat Flair to defend her title in what felt like a proverbial handing of the torch from one of the WWE’s most decorated champions to the new blood midway through her first title reign.
Then on Sunday, the live crowd were on their feet for the opener between Iyo Sky, Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair for the Women’s World Championship.
Sky was able to successfully defend her title in what was a showcase match for all three women, which some online have already labelled “an instant classic”.
Ads disrupt matches
But it was not all plain sailing for WWE.
While the show was well-received by fans for the in-ring action, one thing that didn’t go unnoticed was the quantity of adverts throughout the event.
Brand names written on the ring canvas and a sports drink brand synonymous with YouTuber-turned-wrestler Logan Paul, who faced AJ Styles on Sunday, have become a common part of WWE furniture in recent years.
But this WrestleMania seemed to pack in the ads far more than previous years, with one fan saying it was “challenging to even focus” on the action, and another even calling it “Ad-a-Mania”.
The adverts were even embedded into elements of the presentation itself, with multiple wrestlers making their way to the ring in special costumes designed to promote video games.
And all that’s before the ad breaks which split up the event.
But it’s worth remembering that for those who already had a Netflix subscription, this is the first WrestleMania they won’t have had to shell out any extra money to see.
While this event is often billed as a showpiece on par with cup finals, there is one big difference – tomorrow, WWE will continue on with the next chapter of its never-ending soap opera.
And while the way Netflix bosses feel will come down to pure numbers, fans will surely be happy with what they saw in the ring this weekend.
