GREATEST MANIA MAIN EVENT EVER? Reacting To Wrestlemania XL Night 2 🔥HOT TAKES🔥

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[@DamonHardin]

Undertaker made complete sense. Teddy Long made Taker the Final Boss decades ago.

[@tylerlester7937]

Greatest comment ever

[@cjmk5923]

Maybe but The Rock is still menacing Cody and Taker is gone again.

[@DamonHardin]

@@tylerlester7937 Anyone who disagrees can go one on one wit da UNDERTAKER, Playa! Holla! Holla!

[@DamonHardin]

@@cjmk5923 Is he gone though? I wouldn’t bet on it. He was and is made for Mania. There were plenty better in ring performers, but presentation wise, only Shawn came close. If we are speaking story wise, Brock made the most sense to run in as he had history with both Roman and Cody, but Brock messed his career up and the backlash would’ve overshadowed HHH’s first Mania. Much like Jericho in that AEW match after his allegations.

[@cjmk5923]

​@@DamonHardinI think he is if he wasn't the best thing they could have done was have him interrupt The Rock on Raw tonight and say that The Undertaker is the final boss and if The Rock forgets Taker will put him in his place.

[@BmanTheChamp]

Yo, my comment made the thumbnail? That's freaking awesome, thanks Steve!

[@MeanGene69sJR]

Cause it was asssssssss!

[@Blackrain7920]

So

[@GorillaMon541]

I also thought Mox was gonna come out when The Shield theme hit 😭😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣 why the fuck are we all like this

[@MultiClassGeek]

We were just *that* deep in The Zone at the time. Pavlovian responses are a thing.

[@MDestron2282]

Lol seriously?

[@AmneHex]

I think most of us thought Mox was coming out to that Shield music

[@suplexorcist3646]

Lol I did to

[@dbone3356]

Why would anyone think that? How does that make sense?

[@thomasloveday8026]

Taker made sense to me... Taker's been known as 'the conscience of the company' for as long as I can remember. So when the Final Boss wanders in tries to place a stranglehold on the company. The conscience fights back.

[@BBoy4040]

Undertaker representing WWE as a whole fighting back against the Bloodline fits perfectly.

[@MrML4L]

@@BBoy4040 tbh cena does to.

[@Rickraff87]

I’m so glad WWE stuck the landing to the Cody vs Bloodline story. As someone who was burned by Starcade 97 I was getting nervous there at the end.

[@metashadow3924]

When it comes to Undertaker and his connection to Cody... Everyone is missing the fact that the Undertaker narrated the Cody documentary. He clearly has a connection to his father and has expressed his love for Cody as well. So even though his involvement wasn't on screen, it has been established in a way that would make sense for Undertaker not wish to see Cody lose in that kind of way.

[@stevebahnaman6845]

Taker is the "spirit of Wrestlemania" and I was great with it

[@cjmk5923]

Yeah it worked but I can understand why people would have preferred Austin the History there is just so big.

[@AmneHex]

The Rock: "Im the Final Boss" Undertaker: "Not in Wrestlemania"

[@TheThird1977]

It is amazing that so many instinctively thought "Moxley" even though we knew it was impossible. As for Undertaker, you can justify his inclusion with three reasons -: 1) Rock calling himself "The Final Boss" when that was Undertaker's unofficial designation for over a decade. 2) Roman beating him at Mania, showing that WM30 wasn't a fluke loss. 3) Heyman being the architect behind the ending of his streak and now guiding the only other man to beat him at WrestleMania.

[@jordant96740]

The best part was that Seth didn't turn on Cody

[@MultiClassGeek]

Bonus Hot Take: I want 2K Games to release free DLC for Wrestlemania Showcase Mode featuring the Night 2 Main Event.

[@solomak87]

I like how 4 decades of Wrestlemania was showcased in the main event of Night 2: Undertaker - early 90s The Rock - Late 90s and early 00s John Cena - Late 00s and 2010s Roman Reigns/Cody Rhodes - 2020s and beyond!

[@Jones11b]

Cody is literally the first baby face I’ve rooted for since being a hulkamaniac as a kid…one of the best stories I’ve seen in years

[@KTF0]

Me too. I usually root for the heels or antihero faces.

[@BBoy4040]

The fact that Cody has stayed this over as a main event babyface and face of the company without changing his character is a real testament to his talent and knowing how to get a crowd invested.

[@horrificbuu4446]

Night 1 at least being in the stadium the crowd sounded good and it felt like 30 out. But for night 2 the crowd was even better and the weather was perfect.

[@ProWrestlingPlaybook]

I'd like to think it as the ghost of the Undertaker who haunts Wrestlemania season. Living in constant Mania limbo and seeking revenge for the streak.

[@JetForceFive]

The Undertaker was the last of the Hulkamania Era WWF Superstars, many of the others sadly have either passed away or cannot do anything physical anymore. There are a few others like Steamboat or DiBiase that are still around, but I think Mean Mark was there to represent the Hulkamania Era, like Rock repped Attitude, Cena repped Ruthless, The Shield repped the last decade, and in a way, Roman represents the end of the Vince McMahon Era. It was like watching a time machine in real time.

[@RockoJerome]

I wanted Austin to be the guy to take out Rock, but Taker makes more sense because he was always the locker room leader who corrected MFers when they went outside the lines. And I love that- how often in wrestling does the booking make MORE sense than you expected it to?

[@CulEdz]

We’re just fans trying to make things make sense even tho HHH just brought in Taker for a pop. Not mad at it tho it’s fucking Taker and Rock in the same ring.

[@KyleRossetti]

Yes. Greatest ME ever. Onions when Cody hugged Cole and the announcement by Samantha

[@gobias_]

Taker made sense to me because he famously was powerless to stop the Montreal Screwjob. We all know how pissed he was about how that went down. Well, here's another WWE authority figure executing a screwjob and this time Taker can do something about it. He came all the way to Mania, dressed incognito, waited just in case he was needed. I actually really like it from that perspective. It was his final act as the ultimate locker room leader. It was nothing to do with Roman or the streak or Wrestlemania. He was looking after the locker room like he always did

[@real96]

Undertaker came to Cody's defense because he was pissed when The Rock was taking the Mania match from Cody. He talked about it on his podcast after the fact when Cody made his choice to stand up and take the fight instead. It was more about him coming to Cody's side on that than some deep meaning between Taker, Roman and Rock

[@Joe90h]

I think for a lot of people X-Seven serves more as a perfect time capsule of that point in wrestling, but there's so many 'skip' moments for me. Besides maybe the street fight, every match on night 2 was really good. I'd need to rewatch the US title match, but the other matches were all great for sure.

[@deathmauler181]

Taker being there was part of all the ghosts of Roman's past coming back to haunt him

[@PatrickEtheridge1983]

I'm not sure most commenters know what the term "hot takes" means.

[@user-re7lu7nv2r]

It’s so weird to see everyone’s reaction to night 1s crowd, I was actually in attendance for night 1 (not night 2 unfortunately) but being there in person the crowds was absolutely hot the entire time. It’s interesting to see everyone saying Jimmy v Jey was boring because in person it was one of the best received matches. Crowd was yeeting on literally every hit Jey did on Jimmy. Everyone stood up doing Jeys taunt. It definitely got colder as the night went on but the crowd never got quiet tbh. Huge pop for KO, Cody, Seth and especially Rock. I’m thinking WWE just micd the crowd better or like turned the volume up more? Idk the technical aspects but night 2 could’ve had a better crowd bc imo it was the better night however being there for night 1 I can say it was a good crowd and I had a fantastic time

[@FluffyUnfiltered]

Imho, Undertaken being the perennial "Locker Room leader" makes a ton of sense standing up to the Rock if you also factor in the metric ton of history there as well.

[@twentyoneplusvideo0472]

So I’m one that does not nitpick about if the undertaker should have or should not have been there. I did read another take of this somewhere and it made sense. 1st I’m sure Austin was approached, but I don’t think he cares as much as we think he cares. 2) Hearing the Gong was awesome, and totally surprising. But with the undertaker you lights out, chokeslam on the Rock, lights out, ring empties, match continues. If Austin were to be involved it would have been hard to get back to the original match. He would have overstayed in the ring and it would have then been more about Stone Cold and less about Cody getting that pin. I found that to be perfectly valid for the undertaker showing up.

[@cjmk5923]

Not at all The Rock and Austin could brawl outside the Ring Cody pins Reigns which distracts The Rock who gets a Stunner followed by Austin just walking up the Ramp well Cody celebrates. Taker coming just to Chokeslam The Rock and leave implies some grudge against the Rock which was never present before now so we need people to make up stories why it works.

[@WrestleJuice]

Solid point here!

[@subgum3403]

I prefer takerhere

[@jamiek9780]

I don’t think Austin would over stay his welcome the same way Cena didn’t. WM40, changing of an era, having Austin and Rock in the ring one last time for the sake of the moment would have been a massive moment. Taker is cool regardless, but Austin and Rock is wrestlemania magic.

[@hamdal]

the rock - The final boss The undertaker - The Secret Boss

[@daxbillingsley9]

I think Undertaker going after Rock is more about the “Final Boss” title

[@cjmk5923]

Sure but we don't know and even then the title wasn't really used by Taker it is a stretch I think Taker was just going to be there so they shoved him in. Austin's history with The Rock would have made for a more meaningful appearance but what we got wasn't bad

[@MultiClassGeek]

Rock is the Final Boss Taker is the Secret Hidden Boss who's even tougher

[@BBoy4040]

The Rock is Dracula Undertaker is The Forgotten One

[@hamishjarvis]

Best main event ever and the new HHH Era is awesome , professional wrestling is back

[@UnboxNBoxing]

The majority of people that came down to celebrate with Cody were all people that got screwed over by the bloodline in title matches

[@stevefullhart]

Roman took Undertaker’s yard and abused it, with Taker’s old foe now adding his abuse. That’s why he makes more sense to me than Austin, who I don’t think ever interacted with Bloodline.

[@b3rni3mac2]

More Overbooked would have been all the people involved doing more than 2 moves each. And the only thing that made me think Dean was coming out is that I think Graves said that's impossible. Obviously its not impossible that Seth would come out, unless he was stretchered off in the opening match.

[@brodyperry1996]

Takers always been the authority figure backstage or the guy who kept things in line, Roman and the Bloodline spit in the company’s face too many times by cheating and holding onto the top championship, thus summoning back the Undertaker to his home of Wrestlemania to provide some sweet sweet justice, makes sense to me

[@DanOWar55]

I think we have to consider Seth betraying The Shield one of WWEs canon events. In terms of its importance, it really deserves to be up there with Hogan slamming Andre, Austin turning heel and the Yes Movement

[@TheArronJB]

If you want to keep it mania themed, I’d go with his cash in.

[@tonythepokemonguy751]

I appreciate how steve reacted to “ODE”

[@PIE50100]

This main event erased the animosity I feel most of us had from WM39. Looking back had Cody won at 39 it wouldn't have hit as well as it did at WM40.

[@SierraCharlie13]

Here’s an idea WWE can use to explain the Undertakers run in at mania. The Undertaker seeing how the Rock has been manipulating his TKO Board power. Taker decided to also join the Board to keep Rock from getting to powerful. Could set up Team Rock vs Team Undertaker matches down the line

[@Apizzaslice]

Perhaps the crowd for night 1 was quiet because a large chunk of it was at Stand and Deliver earlier in the day?

[@SmittyCity15]

It was cold af bro, totally different the second night. Trust, felt like 20 degrees because of wind

[@cjmk5923]

​@@SmittyCity15People from Philly should have known it was going to be cold and prepared for it.

[@kyletucker3811]

​@@cjmk5923The issue isn't preparation. Sound travels faster in warm air. If the air is warmer, it can reach the ring before it dissipates upwards. So actually temperature really effects the noise factor.

[@TheAttyjace]

One of the signs that Cody is the next Hogan is the fact that the melody of the line "adrenaline in my soul" sounds like the piano part in the original hogan theme by jim steinman

[@cjmk5923]

Cody doesn't have the chops to be Hogan. This story with Cody is great because he was the underdog something Hogan really never was Cena was the next Hogan a Superhero we don't need that anymore

[@sweetrios]

Sami and KO should have been added to the overbooked Bloodline vs. Cody match

[@dereknorth5189]

Get those oven mitts ready for this piping hotness because I've gotta agree with Dan on this one...the Cody mask was sick.

[@markmahy1117]

That main event gave a lot of Avengers Endgame vibes 👍 cameos and returns leading to a satisfying tearful finish. Oh and it wasn't just me that thought Jon Moxley turned up 😂

[@stevenalmeida5716]

Night 1 was very cold and windy, being in the wind tires you out

[@alteredizzy]

Seth said let me be your shield. He literally and figuratively was

[@TheGreatestBabyFace]

It was so universally praised, even Roman smiled about the result

[@Yellow_belly777]

Undertaker is now the spirit of WrestleMania

[@gcgc6381]

They Mcmahoned Sammy's head on that one, gave him the intercontinental instead, it's something I guess. But a Zayne vs Rhodes match would be awesome.

[@stevengilley5107]

I think Drew McIntyre's going to have the Al Bundy rule he can never win in the end I dig it

[@TrueAlpha_c]

I too was expecting Moxley and how funny, I also ended up expecting all three to show up.(Knowing Roman was in the ring 😂).

[@Mister-jv6zq]

People forget Undertaker was also known as the American Badass, if nothing more he was there to even the odds for the American Nightmare.

[@pelleheikki]

I'm no scientist but I think that wind might affect the sound of the crowd too.

[@Danosulivanuk]

I think the undertaker showing was a serve as everyone expected stone cold. Was the only moment that made me go “what the fuck!”

[@Jeffscooter]

I was there both nights and im not going to lie there were sections night 1 that were quieter than expected but we were going INSANE the whole night in our section, and yeah night two, I still don’t have a voice 😂

[@GrassyOG]

Wow your pop culture point is spot on. Never thought of it that way

[@shadowslayer40]

Samantha is the unrealised MVP from mania 40 she made the moment even better

[@goatbrook9065]

seth being the only person the tribal chief has not beaten at any point is phenomenal they have to have a conclusion to that feud one day. Dont gotta be soon but eventually

[@K_R_one]

The people that came out. To celebrate with Cody. They all were victims of the Bloodline.

[@spac3n1nja]

I think Taker came for Rock, a callback to their Corporate Ministry feud. Lol

[@Mattyman1987]

With the Undertaker, he was the locker room leader and conscious of the WWE. He probably got sick and tired of the integrity of the locker room being destroyed (kayfabe) and protecting WWE from Rock from destroying the integrity even more. That is my take.

[@steveviereck6091]

So as someone in the stadium both night, we were frozen night 1 and night 2 didn't start getting cold until Bayley Iyo and we were definitely louder night 2 because we weren't frozen

[@MysteryMan723]

Guys, it's really very simple. The Undertaker is the TRUE Final Boss of WWE.

[@ryanwaslawski6088]

I can’t wait for Cornette to review dynamite and the jungle Jack / cm punk stuff lol

[@OptimusProvost]

As good as the Bloodline story was, imagine how much better it would’ve been if Dean Ambrose was in WWE

[@JimmyDoesGames]

Back in the Ruthless Aggression era Taker was often referred to as the conscience of WWE. I wonder if his involvement was something to do with that?

[@dbone3356]

I hate when they Lex Luger'd Cody at the end. I rolled my eyes harder than the Undertaker ever did.

[@awesomw08]

Also its the 1st WM under the Triple H era.

[@John-fn7sp]

Takers spot coulda been lesnar if he didn’t have all that other stuff going on

[@thedanemantrain]

I disagree that Undertaker had more business than Stone Cold. I get your logic, but the idea that The Rock's main rival from yesteryear would be the one to neutralize him, paving the way for Cody and Hunter's new era is pure poetry. Undertaker doing it makes sense against Reigns but not for Rock.

[@PIE50100]

Maybe the reason Undertaker was there is because Roman Reigns took the title initally from Braun Stroman and Bray Wyatt. The former is injured and the latter is no longer with us. So maybe the Undertaker is a stand in for the Fiend.

[@ItDoesntMatterReally]

Lesnar, a Heyman Guy, broke 'taker's streak, and then the following year Roman had the man taking his boots off in the ring. If that's not reason enough, he's been perpetually regarded as the conscience of the WWE for decades. I'm sorry, but Undertaker showing up instead of Austin makes way more sense.

[@amritanuragadash2694]

Yes

[@Stephen4523-se6yk]

Roman Reigns carried the company for 4 years making the Universal Championship Iconic in the process.The man has most definitely earned our Acknowledgement! ☝️

[@TheSpektrum1989]

that skull mask was way too stark white plastic like it was fresh out of the box. they needed to rough it up, get it more off white so it's like actual bone, and it fits the "I've been through war" like his tron was saying.

[@JMC1396]

I sort of felt for undertaker coming out, he inducted Muhammad Ali into the hall of fame, Ali's widow gave him the " people's champion" thing, taker thought rock wasnt acting the way " the peoples champion" should. Is that a reach? Haha

[@rogerbabin8175]

I don't really have a hot take...but I did think less of the show than the IWC at large it seems. You can essentially take every star rating Steve and Larson gave and subtract one star from them and you have my personal rating. The biggest difference is that second tag match which I scored 1.25 stars as I was very much bored by it and saw no compelling reason why it deserved to be on WM. If we factored in commentary to the scoring of a match then Snoop would have elevated it since his reactions were the best part.

[@markrodriguez8864]

I'm ODE to I watched the New Generation era & the Attitude era.

[@ryantv4me]

ok I'm confused on ODE, could you fill me in what it stands for?

[@tj2nasty4ya83]

Owen vs Bret wm10 will forever be the greatest opening match in wrestlemania history

[@charliem9831]

I had a better time watching WM 6, 7 and 8 than WM X7

[@twinewinder1]

The Undertaker makes more sense if you think of it as him not targeting Roman, but instead the Rock because of his claim of being the "final boss." You know Undertaker hates that video game crap 😂😂😂😂😂

[@deathmauler181]

I was one or the casuals that loved seeing Sheamus squash Daniel Bryan

[@mat6990]

When you talk about Taker being the only one that doesn't make sense I disagree: he is THE ultimate WWE guy, my fan theory is that he was tired of The Rocks bullshit and came to put an end to his tyranny

[@cjmk5923]

Rock didn't really do anything Tyrannical until night one of Mania though.

[@mat6990]

@@cjmk5923 So.... he did do something tyrannical then?

[@IAEMThatIAEM]

Bret Vs Austin at Mania 13 is better than any match on these cards. Not to say there weren't great matches: but none were that epic. For anyone who says that Bret Vs Austin wasnt the main event.... it was the co-main event. Undertaker Vs Diesel was the co-main event in 1996 for reference

[@YelloDuzzit]

THE UNDAATAKAAA

[@Gravewhisper]

2 things I didn't like about this years Wrestlemania: Rhea Ripley's entrance band and the whole hype about a bloodline rules match boiling down to just a regular no DQ match. Sure, there were some cool surprise cameos in there, but nothing about that match stipulation was anything special, certainly nothing deserving it's own name. Now that the match is over, we're still not any clearer on what "bloodline rules" was actually supposed to mean.

[@jamiek9780]

Say what you want about Moxley in AEW, if Austin and Jon Moxley were able to make the show, that would be the ONLY way they’d outdo what they actually did.

[@tt_dynomite]

I guess it's a hot take, but the Seth thing literally made no sense if it's a long-term story Roman forgave Seth years ago when Dean was leaving; it was Dean who never got over it Roman was fine till only recently; the last two years when he feuded with Seth actually as I type it, I think there is an argument it was actively awful long term storytelling cause it's like in book one of a series the betrayal happens then in book four the betrayer is forgiven then in book twelve the character who had clearly moved on and has had much worse happen to him since blames that initial betrayal for them turning bad. It only makes sense as a two-year story, not as one that is ten years going as the current narrative on social media is saying.

[@explorewithefrain7305]

I am cool with The Undertaker appearing! It does not always need to be stone cold.

[@cjmk5923]

I wouldn't call the Seth thing long form story telling as much as it is a callback. In order for it to be long form storytelling they would have to have something that connects to it where most of his story revolves around people not willing to acknowledge him. If they had made a point of Roman never letting any bloodline member stand behind him since the chair shot that would be long form storytelling.

[@LiveLoveSuperkick]

It's long term storytelling because since that time...Seth has lived rent free in Roman's head. Long term storytelling. Also The fact Sami turned in the same way makes it even more relevant.

[@cjmk5923]

​@@LiveLoveSuperkick There is no evidence Seth lived rent free in his head for those years other than what happened at Mania. Just bringing something up when the two are once again involved in a story is not living rent free.

[@LiveLoveSuperkick]

​@@cjmk5923 Roman taking the DQ against Seth...never giving him another shot and choosing to hit Seth over Cody. That's rent free for sure.

[@tj2nasty4ya83]

Undertaker makes the most sense since he was always seen as the locker room leader, it's the torch passing to Cody

[@cjmk5923]

That doesn't really work as the two didn't interact people will come up with some strange things

[@tj2nasty4ya83]

@@cjmk5923 they didn't need to interact for him to become locker room leader.. It's locker room leader not on screen leader.. Guess wrestlers themselves saying undertaker made sense as the locker room leader to help Cody means nothing since u think I came up with something strange.. Question tho if it was Austin how would that have made any more sense? Curious

[@cjmk5923]

​​@@tj2nasty4ya83simple Austin disliking the Rock. Attacking The Rock doesn't somehow pass the torch of Locker room leader to Cody. Steve attacking The Rock could be something so simple as he dislikes The Rocks attitude. A passing of the Torch requires an interaction between the passer and the passee. Not to mention Locker room Leader is given to you by being the most respected wrestler in the locker room it isn't just a title Taker can pass

[@papoblu99]

Last time The Rock and undertaker were in a match. The rock beat him for the WWE title in a triple threat match 😶😶😶😶JAMON!!

[@Rickraff87]

When it comes to CM Punk it might be best to just walk away. Tony Khan should learn from Drew.

[@marcrapaccuiolo2406]

I still think John Cena taking so long to come out and fight off Solo made no sense. Cody literally had 2 shots at getting pinned before he ran to the ring 😂

[@GoldenT1K]

I can’t be the only one that thinks that Samantha Irvin is just *good*. I see why people say she is their favorite but eh?

[@GamingWithCubby]

Seth sacrificing literally everything for someone while Roman throws away his legacy for petty revenge is an amazing end to each characters current arc Idk why they wouldn’t at least paint the Cody skull helmet..? Also I thought moxley would be there in some way Even to maybe just wave at Roman over the barricade the commentators say Roman looks like he’s seen a ghost or something idk

[@robqwert2696]

Haha agreed. The skull looked goofy, could have looked so much better but its a nitpick

[@RKae858]

Cody mask vs karrion bucket?

[@rreith]

I thought Taker was better than Austin for one reason. He was in and out quickly! Austin would have had 20 minutes of sloppy beer drinking after the match. And it wasn't about him.

[@MDestron2282]

Exactly this.

[@julioornano8427]

The first take is a clear example of why wwe continues to repeat things thinking fans don’t remember, cause apparently you all don’t remember Royal rumble 2022…

[@erikmartinez8814]

#Hottake Brock Lesnar made the most sense to confront the rock , help Cody , and screw over Roman reigns and the bloodline

[@TheNiggler17]

I don’t care about Jey or Jimmy as solo wrestlers and I don’t want to see a rematch between them

[@honkedoffjohn]

I have a hot take. WWE will go the way Marvel did after Avengers Endgame. Once Thanos was gone, it was hard to get invested. Now that Roman's gone, there is gonna be that drop off in quality like Marvel did. Today's lackluster Raw after Mania was kind of akin to that. Keeping the Marvel parallels, CM Punk + Drew is the Spider-Man No Way Home. If you know you know.

[@KairiPrime]

Naw, lackluster Raws after Mania have always been a thing, even in the attitude era. Which is understandable as people are obviously exhausted, especially after a two night Mania. I wouldn't read that much into it unless there continues to be a drop in quality for more shows.

[@KTF0]

I dunno, you can still do 1000 stories with Roman unless he gets hurt.