Arlington (Texas, USA): Cody Rhodes returned to the ring with a bang while Bianca Belair bamboozled Becky Lynch as Day One of WWE’s WrestleMania generated a lot of heat at the imposing AT&T Stadium here on Saturday.
Cody stunned former champion Seth Rollins as he went all out against the big man in a match laden with acrobatic attacks — leaps off the ropes, mid-air mayhem, dives and drop kicks were the order of the day as the Superstars were involved in a top class tussle. Cody clinched the deal after an aggressive onslaught.
Becky looked in control of the Raw Women’s Championship match against Bianca. She got an early pin before the braided Bianca wriggled free. It soon turned into a catfight with the contestants going for each other’s hair.
Becky did have an advantage as she had her rival hanging upside down on the rope, slamming her to the floor with a daredevil dive but gutsy Bianca got back on her feet and had Becky in a lock. Soon, the fight grew intense as both wrestlers rolled out of the ring. Back on, it was Bianca who came out flying, with a flurry of forward and back flips culminating in a powerful pin that put Becky out of the game.
Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey continued the women’s show with a bitter battle in the SmackDown Women’s Championship match. They went straight at each other at the start, tossing about and coming up with locks in a gripping contest which Charlotte won with a pinfall and flair.
The no holds barred match between ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and Kevin Owens was bad tempered. The former spit beer into his rival’s face while Kevin charged his opponent with a steel chair that Steve ducked before turning the tables.
In a Tag Team match, the father son duo of Rey and Dominik Mysterio were off the blocks early but a late flurry by The Miz & Logan Paul helped them edge ahead. Rey was all over the place with fast-paced flying tackles that brought his rivals crashing to the floor. Dominik too was dominant for most part until their opponents stepped it up.
Earlier, Drew McIntyre pulled out all the stops to flatten Happy Corbin, in the process flying out of the ropes to chase his rival before celebrating his win by thrusting a huge sword high into the air, much to the delight of the packed crowd.
In another match, The Usos defeated Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs to retain the SmackDown Tag Team title.
Live on TV: WWE Raw from 5.30 am (Tuesday) on Sony Ten 1 (English), Sony Ten 3 (Hindi) and Sony Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu).
