Wrestlemania Review: Womens matches stole the show, and it's not unique to this PLE

Ibrahim Malik

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Wrestlemania Review: Womens matches stole the show, and it's not unique to this PLE image

If’s Sunday’s second act of WWE’s Wrestlemania 41 ended on an underwhelming note, the night, at least, had gotten off to a far more impressive start some three and a half hours earlier. The startling lack of creativity signaling the end of Cody Rhodes’ first reign as WWE champion and the beginning of John Cena’s 17th, paled in comparison to the 

After a fairly lackluster build on Raw each Monday night on Netflix that had seen Rhea Ripley unconvincingly inserted into the match, Iyo Sky treated as something of a third wheel as the new champion, and Bianca Belair turned on by the fans to the bemusement of many an onlooker, only the hardest of critical hearts could argue that the three women did not exceed all expectations between the bells once they stepped into the ring in Las Vegas.

 

Ripley, Sky, and Belair are no strangers to making their mark on the Wrestlemania stage. Between the three of them (Bianca with Sasha Banks in 2021 and Becky Lynch in 2022. Rhea with Charlotte Flair in 2023, and Iyo with Bayley in 2024) they have won maybe the 4 finest women’s matches in Wrestlemania history, and 4 of the better efforts by any women in company history.

 

So maybe it should really be no surprise that their barn-burner on Sunday tore the house down. A non-stop thrill ride, their triple threat match for WWE’s Women’s World Championship was filled with a propulsive pace, lack of sloppiness, innovative spots often bordering on the seemingly dangerous, and a generally flawless execution from beginning to end. One could easily argue that if there is one match worth watching from the second night of Wrestlemania 41, one that might linger in the memory for good reasons rather than bad ones, it would be this one, complete with Sky, the defending champion who had been third-wheeled in the build to the defense of her title, emerging victorious.

 

Ibrahim Malik

Ibbi is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is living his best life in the UK, loving all sports, especially US sports. He is an NFL, NBA, MLB, tennis and pro-wrestling enthusiast. You can follow him at @quitrasslinme on X.