WWE WrestleMania 39 PLE Results: 4-1-23 (Night 1)Results courtesy of
PWTorch.com (direct link to LeClair's real-time report)(1) AUSTIN THEORY (c) vs. JOHN CENA – WWE United States Championship matchAustin Theory and John Cena stepped around each other in the ring. Theory motioned toward the crowd and told Cena they’re here to see him. The two men locked up. Theory sent Cena toward the ropes, but John dropped his opponent with a big shoulder tackle. They locked up again. Theory tried to wrestle Cena to the mat, but the veteran bested him. A dueling “Let’s Go Cena/Cena Sucks” chant built. Cena smiled. He let go of a side headlock and dropped Theory with another shoulder.
Cena worked Theory into a corner tie-up. The referee counted to four, necessitating a break. Cena stepped back with a smirk. Theory backed Cena into the same corner and bit his ear. Cena shoved him off. Theory leapt from the ring. Cena complained to the official, grabbing at his ear. Theory used the distraction to drop Cena from behind and cover him for a quick two count. The champion gave Cena a snap Suplex and covered for another two count. He looked around, jawing at the crowd. “You think he’s still got it?” They booed Theory loudly.
Theory went for another Suplex, but Cena bent his knees and blocked the attempt. He snapped back with a Suplex of his own. Theory rose quickly, but Cena hit him with quick rights. He whipped Theory to the corner, but Austin caught him with an elbow. Theory rolled into a standing, leaping Blockbuster. He covered Cena for another two count. Theory climbed to the top rope and posed. Boos rained down on him. He rolled through the middle rope and popped up to deliver a nice looking missile dropkick to Cena for another cover and another two count.
The champion went for the rolling missile dropkick a second time. Cena side-stepped it, causing Theory to crash and burn. Cena immediately pounced, locking in the STF. Theory struggled for a few moments, but bit Cena’s hand to free himself. He dropped Cena with a big elbow on the rebound. Theory waved his hand in front of his face as the match approached 6:30. He hit Cena with a trio of quick strikes, dropping him. Theory covered Cena with a single boot. John kicked out with ease.
Austin circled the ring as Cena writhed on the mat in the center. Theory hit a quick Snapmare and leaping stomp to the head. He continued to talk trash to the crowd. He shimmied his shoulders in mocking fashion. Theory went for another leaping boot, but Cena caught is foot. He pulled himself to his feet and scooped him up into position for the Attitude Adjustment. Theory fought out of it. Cena dropped him and covered for a quick two count.
“It’s all day!” Theory yelled after regaining control with a clothesline in the corner. Cena fought out with a number of punches. Theory whipped him off the ropes and caught him in a Sleeper hold. Cena began to fade at 9:00. He began to fall to a knee, but held himself up. Theory, sensing the comeback, leapt onto Cena’s back. John dropped to a knee, now carrying all of Theory’s weight. He managed to return to a vertical base and back Theory into the turnbuckle. Cena hit the ropes and hit a pair of leaping shoulder tackles. Austin walked right into the spin-out slam. Cena threw up the hand, hit the ropes, and delivered a Five Knuckle Shuffle. Theory stumbled to his feet. Cena looked for the Attitude Adjustment. Theory grabbed the top rope to prevent the move. Cena ripped him away. Cena stumbled backward. Theory’s feet kicked referee’ Chad Patton, dropping him.
Cena immediately applied the STF. Theory tapped within seconds. Cena broke the hold, assuming he’d won. He quickly realized that there was no referee. Cena went to check on Patton. Theory recovered and gave Cena a low blow. He scooped him up and hit the A-Town Down for a cover and three count.
WINNER: Austin Theory in 11:19 to retain the WWE United States Championship
(I thought this was a good enough opener, but it absolutely felt like an undercard match. Neither man ever really got going. Cena seemed timid to try anything significant, and Theory’s moveset seemed considerably tamed in comparison to what we generally see out of him. It just felt a bit phoned in. I didn’t get the sense that Cena was particularly motivated to put Theory over in any significant way, and the finish felt like a punt on any real commitment to him going forward. Theory won, but he did so by cheating immediately after a visual tap out. Michael Cole did his best to
sell this like a big deal, especially comparing it to Cena’s first U.S. title win against Big Show at WrestleMania 20. Ultimately, though, it just didn’t feel very meaningful.)(2) BRAUN STROWMAN & RICOCHET vs. THE VIKING RAIDERS (w/ Valhalla) vs. ALPHA ACADEMY vs. THE STREET PROFITS – Men’s Tag Team Showcase matchRicochet began the match with Chad Gable. He flipped toward Gable, who picked the ankle and immediately tried to lock in a submission. Ricochet used the ropes to climb up and free himself. Cole noted that there’s no rope breaks and no disqualifications. Gable and Ricochet chain wrestled briefly. Gable leapfrogged out of his own corner. Otis tagged himself in and flattened Ricochet. The crowd liked it. Otis tagged Gable back in and fed Ricochet into a big shoulder tackle. Gable taunted Braun Strowman.
Before long, all eight men in the match leapt int the ring to stare each other down. A punch was thrown and the action broke down. Erik gave Strowman a spinning heel kick. Ivar flattened Angelo Dawkins. The Raiders gave Ricochet a German Suplex/springboard Clothesline combo. The dropped Montez Ford with the Ragnarok, then posed for the camera with Valhalla. They held the pose for several moments as Braun Strowman stood huffing behind them. He dropped both Vikings with ease and tossed them from the ring.
Chad Gable approached Strowman from behind. He backed him into a turnbuckle and executed a roll-through, bridging German Suplex for a massive pop. Strowman kicked out at one, but the crowd came to life. Gable climbed to the top rope, but Montez Ford tagged himself in. Ford climbed to the top rope. Ivar tagged him and shoved him to the mat. Ivar climbed the turnbuckle himself. He went for a massive Moonsault, but Ford moved. Strowman climbed the turnbuckle next. He nearly fell, but managed to hit a massive splash on Ivar for a cover and near fall. It was broken up by virtually every other man in the match.
The match crossed 5:00. Otis gave Strowman a massive Powerslam. He ripped off his shirt and danced. Otis climbed the turnbuckle, but ate a kick to the face from Montez Ford. Gable speared Ford on the top turnbuckle. He leapt up for a Superplex. Ivar joined, then Otis, then Erik. They backed into a big tower, but Ricochet dove off the top for a Cross Body to complete the move. Bodies were strewn about the ring. Dawkins tagged himself in. Strowman knocked him off the apron. Braun leapt from the ring and began circling it, tackling wrestlers along his path. He made two complete trips around the ring before getting dropped by Angelo Dawkins.
Dawkins barely had time to celebrate. Ricochet came diving off the ropes with a Shooting Star Press. He tossed Dawkins back in the ring and went for another. Dawkins got his knees up. He held Ricochet in place long enough for Montez Ford to hit a massive frog splash from the adjacent turnbuckle. Dawkins rolled Ricochet over for a cover and three count.
WINNERS: The Street Profits in 8:27
(This felt a lot like something you’d get out of AEW’s tag team division. Fast and furious from the opening bell with minimal attention paid to tag rules. Chad Gable looked like an absolute star, landing a huge German Suplex on Strowman for a huge pop. The crowd was into he and Otis, but were most invested in the Street Profits. The attention seemed to be more on Dawkins than Ford, a significant departure from their usual booking. Dawkins’ getting to cut off Strowman’s freight train and drop him was an impressive sight. This didn’t overstay it’s welcome, and the right team win. Thumbs up.)
