Five key takeaways from WWE WrestleMania Saturday as star smashes horrific streak and MVPs steal show
The first night of WrestleMania 41 is in the record books with new champions aplenty in WWE. Over 61,000 jammed into the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for the opening evening of the year’s biggest wrestling show. WWEWWE enjoyed another sell-out night for WrestleMania Saturday[/caption] With so many stars to showcase, feuds to play out and drama to ham up, ‘Mania’ can no longer be confined to just a single night, so plenty more drama will follow on Sunday as John Cena steps up to Cody Rhodes to challenge for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Logan Paul will grapple with AJ Styles while Brit Drew McIntyre will brawl it out with enemy Damian Priest, night two loaded with big-name stories and matches. Saturday had some major moments and talking points too, though, with multiple titles changing hands and talking points aplenty. With that in mind, talkSPORT has a handy look back at five key takeaways for WrestleMania 41 Saturday in Vegas. LA Knight must not vanish from WWE after damaging loss One of WWE’s most popular stars, LA Knight was again unseated as United States Champion by Jacob Fatu at WrestleMania. He originally beat Logan Paul for the gold in what felt a defining title win, only for the company to have him drop the title last year to Shinsuke Nakamura in late 2024. The Japanese sensation went nowhere with the title, however, and was barely even featured on shows – Knight’s defeat more puzzling and his success over Paul all-but redundant. Months later, WWE seemed to have rectified things by simply switching the gold back to the Megastar to pretend as if he’d never lost it, but that second reign has lasted barely 43 days. One difference this time around is Fatu, who seems destined for huge things in WWE. What will be of greater concern to fans will be Knight’s trajectory from here. Does he simply fade away from here? That would seem criminal, so some careful thinking will be needed to avoid him simply blending into the back. WrestleMania really is the end of the season WWE stars are an incredible breed given they perform all over the globe week to week with incredible stamina and performance level. Netflix/WWELA Knight (left) endured another difficult title loss on Saturday night[/caption] WWEPaul ‘Triple H’ Levesque leads WWE into its ‘new’ season after WrestleMania[/caption] Unlike most other pursuits, WWE has no ‘off season’ in so much as the show never stops – there’s always another episode next week. In WrestleMania, though, WWE has its very own reset button. The New Day, Jey Uso and Fatu all claimed victories and, with them, new championships on Saturday, giving the shows and their rosters a fresh look and feel going into the post-Mania season. Should Sunday follow a similar suit, the game will have changed drastically, the idea of Cena being the champion heading into a new phase of programming is a prospect to whet the appetite. Jey Uso breaks two terrible losing streaks When you think of wrestling streaks, you almost certainly think of The Undertaker, such was the iconic status of Taker’s Steak at WWE’s Show of Shows, WrestleMania. He was undefeated in over 20 matches and is rightly regarded and remembered as one of the event’s most notable stars. Uso was in danger of joining him in being select company on Saturday. Going into his challenge to Gunther, he had lost six title matches as a singles wrestler, though admittedly he hadn’t racked them up specifically at Mania. WWE/NetflixJey Uso picked up the win of his career at WrestleMania[/caption] WWE loves making money – and a lot of it – at WrestleManiaX Bad, too, was his 0-3 showing in matches against Gunther. In Vegas, he at least made that 1-3 – and in some style, to become new World Heavyweight Champion. Given Uso will surely be given enough time and space with the gold to defend it successfully a few times, those numbers should look decidedly more impressive in a year’s time. WrestleMania is big, big money It’s no secret that WWE is making a fair bit these days, from eye-watering ticket prices for events like WrestleMania, lucrative sponsorship deals and unique fan experiences. At WWE World, for instance, fans had the chance to buy the ring-worn gear John Cena had on for his iconic Elimination Chamber heel turn on Cody Rhodes. The turn went down in history as one of Cena and WWE’s most explosive moments – so much so that you’d need to fork out precisely $74,999 to go home with it. WrestleMania saw ring mat sponsorship, logos on turnbuckles and named sponsors for almost every match and major moment; more than a pretty penny going WWE’s way. WWE/Netflix WrestleMania’s star performers were the women who shone where others flickered[/caption] WWENo titles, just a solid story for Naomi and Jade Cargill[/caption] Women stole the show at WrestleMania There’s no getting away from it: WrestleMania Saturday was a bit of a limp affair at times.
The first night of WrestleMania 41 is in the record books with new champions aplenty in WWE.
Over 61,000 jammed into the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for the opening evening of the year’s biggest wrestling show.
With so many stars to showcase, feuds to play out and drama to ham up, ‘Mania’ can no longer be confined to just a single night, so plenty more drama will follow on Sunday as John Cena steps up to Cody Rhodes to challenge for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Logan Paul will grapple with AJ Styles while Brit Drew McIntyre will brawl it out with enemy Damian Priest, night two loaded with big-name stories and matches.
Saturday had some major moments and talking points too, though, with multiple titles changing hands and talking points aplenty.
With that in mind, talkSPORT has a handy look back at five key takeaways for WrestleMania 41 Saturday in Vegas.
LA Knight must not vanish from WWE after damaging loss
One of WWE’s most popular stars, LA Knight was again unseated as United States Champion by Jacob Fatu at WrestleMania.
He originally beat Logan Paul for the gold in what felt a defining title win, only for the company to have him drop the title last year to Shinsuke Nakamura in late 2024.
The Japanese sensation went nowhere with the title, however, and was barely even featured on shows – Knight’s defeat more puzzling and his success over Paul all-but redundant.
Months later, WWE seemed to have rectified things by simply switching the gold back to the Megastar to pretend as if he’d never lost it, but that second reign has lasted barely 43 days.
One difference this time around is Fatu, who seems destined for huge things in WWE. What will be of greater concern to fans will be Knight’s trajectory from here. Does he simply fade away from here? That would seem criminal, so some careful thinking will be needed to avoid him simply blending into the back.
WrestleMania really is the end of the season
WWE stars are an incredible breed given they perform all over the globe week to week with incredible stamina and performance level.
Unlike most other pursuits, WWE has no ‘off season’ in so much as the show never stops – there’s always another episode next week.
In WrestleMania, though, WWE has its very own reset button. The New Day, Jey Uso and Fatu all claimed victories and, with them, new championships on Saturday, giving the shows and their rosters a fresh look and feel going into the post-Mania season.
Should Sunday follow a similar suit, the game will have changed drastically, the idea of Cena being the champion heading into a new phase of programming is a prospect to whet the appetite.
Jey Uso breaks two terrible losing streaks
When you think of wrestling streaks, you almost certainly think of The Undertaker, such was the iconic status of Taker’s Steak at WWE’s Show of Shows, WrestleMania.
He was undefeated in over 20 matches and is rightly regarded and remembered as one of the event’s most notable stars.
Uso was in danger of joining him in being select company on Saturday. Going into his challenge to Gunther, he had lost six title matches as a singles wrestler, though admittedly he hadn’t racked them up specifically at Mania.
Bad, too, was his 0-3 showing in matches against Gunther. In Vegas, he at least made that 1-3 – and in some style, to become new World Heavyweight Champion.
Given Uso will surely be given enough time and space with the gold to defend it successfully a few times, those numbers should look decidedly more impressive in a year’s time.
WrestleMania is big, big money
It’s no secret that WWE is making a fair bit these days, from eye-watering ticket prices for events like WrestleMania, lucrative sponsorship deals and unique fan experiences.
At WWE World, for instance, fans had the chance to buy the ring-worn gear John Cena had on for his iconic Elimination Chamber heel turn on Cody Rhodes.
The turn went down in history as one of Cena and WWE’s most explosive moments – so much so that you’d need to fork out precisely $74,999 to go home with it.
WrestleMania saw ring mat sponsorship, logos on turnbuckles and named sponsors for almost every match and major moment; more than a pretty penny going WWE’s way.
Women stole the show at WrestleMania
There’s no getting away from it: WrestleMania Saturday was a bit of a limp affair at times.
The gigantic crowd took until the penultimate match of the night to get going and rarely seemed too engaged with what was a very well-presented, clinical night of action inside the wrestling ring.
Step forward the women of WWE to change that. Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair and Iyo Sky meet for Sky’s Women’s World Championship on Sunday, but Naomi, Jade Cargill Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton did the hard yards in getting fans out of their seats on Saturday.
In the Naomi-Cargill story you had the rarest of things: a WrestleMania match involving women that didn’t have a title on the line. It was a grudge match with a tale behind it, simple as.
And only when Stratton and Flair started exchanging some pretty hefty blows did the volume inside the stadium reach deafening levels that their male counterparts only really got close to when the heavy hitters of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and CM Punk reached the climax of their main event match and Paul Heyman – eventually – sided with Rollins to end a topsy-turvy saga.
Time to take note and, perhaps, increase further still the amount WWE’s women get to do on the company’s biggest stage.
