Dallas (Texas, USA): There was no let up after the big one as action continued post WrestleMania with WWE’s Raw that brought the curtain down on the series of events over the last five days here.
Cody Rhodes, Sasha Banks, Naomi, Bron Breakker and Shiva-styled Veer Mahan were among those who enthralled the crowd at the American Airlines Centre on Monday night.
Cody was accorded a warm welcome back to the WWE ring by fans who chanted his name and held up placards of praise. The decibel level went up as he announced his “multi-year contract with the WWE.” The crowd responded with “you deserve it” chorus before he shook hands with WrestleMania rival Seth Rollins.
Later, the Women’s Tag Team match featured champions Sasha & Naomi against Liv Morgan & Rhea Ripley. Naomi was the aggressor with Liv at the receiving end initially, which prompted Rhea into action with a flurry of kicks on Naomi. Soon, Sasha too got involved in the proceedings but her partner threw Liv out of the ropes. Very quickly, Rhea was pinned as the match ended in Sasha-Naomi’s favour.
In other matches, The Miz saw of Dominik Mysterio in no time but Veer got rid of both to make huge impact in an Indian costume; Bron Breakker dismissed Dolph Ziggler by pinning him to the floor; while The Street Profits defeated Alpha Academy in a Tornado Tag Team Match.
WrestleMania breaks records
Meanwhile, WrestleMania became WWE’s highest-grossing and most-attended event in history. The annual extravaganza saw 1,56,352 fans from the USA and 53 countries converge on AT&T Stadium in Arlington over the course of two exciting nights, surpassing the previous gate and attendance records set by WrestleMania in 2016. “The city of Arlington is extremely grateful to WWE for bringing back its biggest annual celebration. We look forward to the opportunity to top this record with a future WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium,” said Arlington Mayor Jim Ross.
“On behalf of our family and the entire Dallas Cowboys organisation, we are ecstatic to have once again shattered records with WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium,” said Dallas Cowboys Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones.
“The city of Dallas would like to thank WWE for presenting an incredible WrestleMania week of events at both the American Airlines Center and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. The week provided an economic windfall for Dallas and proved once again that our city is a first-class host for major sporting events,” said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.
