WrestleMania 41 Night 2 Live Blog: I'm Reacting To John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton's Mystery Opponent, And More
The grand finale is here!

After last night's stunning events, it's time to do another night of WrestleMania 41. As our first live-blog pointed out the Vegas event has not disappointed thus far, and one can assume it'll only get better as we close things out. There are many big showdowns on the docket, including John Cena's final Mania match where he'll take on Cody Rhodes.
CinemaBlend is tracking and reacting to all the big moments of the night, and hoping our predictions hold up. So far our picks are looking pretty good, but there's still a whole night of wrestling we need to get through!
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Iyo Sky (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair | Triple threat match for the Women's World Championship |
AJ Stylves vs. Logan Paul | Singles Match |
Bron Breakker (c) vs. Finn Balor vs. Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio | Four-Man match for the Intercontinental Championship |
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria | Women's Tag Team Championship |
Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre | Street Fight |
Randy Orten vs. TBD | Open Challenge |
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena | Undisputed WWE Championship match |
Hello, and WELCOME TO WrestleMania's...live blog. Night 1 was a mixed bag of good and bad, and I think many are hoping Night 2 is much better. I think the odds of that happening are pretty good with the three best women in wrestling competing against each other, Randy Orton getting a mystery opponent after Kevin Owens was injured, and John Cena and Cody Rhodes having the match of a lifetime. Strap in, things are going to get wild!
Just to make a quick list of things I'm hoping to see improve tonight over Night 1:
- Cooler entrances.
- Better costumes.
- More ties to Las Vegas.
- More quality matches.
I hope that's not too shady to say, but outside of the main event, I genuinely don't think the previous evening had a match worth revisiting. Here's hoping that changes tonight.
Pop star Ava Max opening up the show with the "Star Spangled Banner." It would appear that the rumors of President Donald Trump attending WrestleMania 41 did not pan out.
Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, and Iyo Sky for the Women's World Championship is up first. All three women will set the tone for the night, and the bar is already set high for them to deliver a banger of a match. We'll see if they rise to the challenge.
Before the women's match gets underway, Stephanie McMahon steps in the ring. Stephanie talks about her ties to Las Vegas and calls the crowd her family. She kicks off the show with the classic "Welcome to WrestleMania" line, and the night is officially underway.
Iyo Sky's entrance is kind of hurt by the long ramp. She can't stumble around as much with so much ground to cover to the ring. Love the outfit though.The all-yellow ring gear is a bold choice but memorable.
Bianca's entrance includes a group of girls with their own long ponytails, as well as a bunch of double dutch jump ropers. One of the dancers was her step-daughter. Belair is wearing a mix of rose and gold, and it fits the Vegas theme perfectly. Dare I say, the bestEST outfit I've seen so far.
Rhea makes her entrance looking like a mixture between a Dark Souls boss and a Cenobite from Hellraiser. One of her more-memorable Mania looks, but not a vast departure from her usual look.
This is already looking like a classic. Three of the most-talented women in pro wrestling already pulling off some highly coordinated moves!
Rhea is selling like a champ, but it isn't helping keep the booing off Bianca Belair, hopefully her wrestling sways the crowd into siding with her.
These women are delivering. I may already put this on par with last night's main event!
I think Bianca deserves this win. I'd take an Iyo win, I wouldn't like a Rhea win. There's no point. We'll see what happens.
WHAT A SEQUENCE! This may be better than Night 1's main event!
Iyo Sky retains in an absolutely bonkers finish! What a damn match. That was an instant classic.
Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre are up next. Both men have spoken publicly about wanting to deliver on this match. I hope it's as great as the first match of the night, but it's a high bar to clear.
I had issues with this last night with the War Raiders repping ring gear that promotes Clash of Clans, but this is even worse. Drew McIntyre walks out in ring gear tied to the upcoming video game Doom: The Dark Ages, and it looks as crappy as last night's gear. Get rid of ads tying into ring gear.
Damian Priest comes out in some goth-looking homage to Batman. He also came out to a bad ass live guitar solo, which was a fantastic touch.
The street fight was only in the ring for seconds before both men made their way to the outside. I'm expecting blood to be shed in this one with as stiff as these shots look.
We have three tables ready to go in this match. I'm expecting a big spot here at some point. Who will go through the table though?
This match isn't as great as the first, but it's delivering on the brutality each man promised. To me, I think both Damian and Drew are proving they need something more substantial next year.
Damian Priest goes through the table trying to channel The Undertaker. Drew's back is bleeding a bit. The crowd is loving it.
Drew wins! Credit to both men. Following that first match was not easy, but they put on a solid show that made the crowd grimace and groan.
Here's a notable tweet from Shinsuke Nakamura, who noted Iyo Sky is the first Japanese wrestler to win at WrestleMania in 27 years:
🔥First Japanese Victory in 27 Years.congratulations!!! https://t.co/OolrUdK7xVApril 20, 2025
The Intercontinental Championship is up next. I'm going to make a bold prediction here: I think Dominik Mysterio wins the IC title. Penta would be my logical choice, because it seems like the WWE realizes just how over he is immediately. Finn winning would be nice, but I don't see it happening. The only thing I'm willing to put money on is that Bron Breakker does not retain, and he'll probably start his campaign for the world title.
Penta's entrance already looks like a WrestleMania event, so it's no surprise he looks just as epic now. He's kind of dressed like the green Power Ranger, but damn he looks so cool I don't care.
Dom, surprisingly, not getting as much heat as usual. It is funny he's sponsored by Dude Wipes. I'll give the WWE credit for that one.
I swear every time I see Finn's entrance, it's something different. He's looking ripped and ready to go. The crowd reaction is mild. No doubt they're used to watching him lose.
Bron Breakker makes his way to the ring. No major frills, but still looking like the man. I mean, who am I to say that's not true? He's had a tremendous run so far.
This match is just as awesome as we all envisioned. I thought Bron Breakker legit injured Penta with that dive bomb. That man is just too damn strong.
Ladies and gentlemen, Dominik Mysterio is getting cheers for pulling off wrestling moves. At WrestleMania! Never thought I'd see the day.
Carlito is sent through the table with a powerful spear! Who is winning this match?!
Dominik Mysterio pins Finn Balor for the IC Title! This place is going bonkers!
Night 2 is already blowing Night 1 out of the water. Even James Gunn is locked in. Clearly he's waiting to see John Cena:
Oh shit now it’s personal! https://t.co/gfqJR4xDNCApril 20, 2025
Randy Orton's mystery match is up now. Popular speculation is that Rusev will return and be his opponent, but we'll see!
Randy is waiting for his opponent, and it is...Joe Hendry!
The crowd is going wild for Joe Hendry. What a great moment for the TNA champion.
Joe Hendry eating a pin via RKO is brutal. The WWE is doing TNA dirty making their champions lose a lot, but what do you expect?
Randy mocking Hendry's pose was a hilarious, I'll give them that.
It's time for AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul. This is going to be a major test for the latter, who will need to prove he can keep up with a veteran the caliber of Styles. I'm expecting a great match, but only because it better be nothing less than given how this night has gone so far.
Logan's entrance is over the top and annoying. Just as he intended it to be I'm sure.
AJ Styles doesn't do anything too fancy for his entrance. He's wearing white, but that's about it.
Slow start to this match. I think we've been spoiled by how great every other match has been.
Not a fan of the drone cam. The camera quality is not as good. Cool for quick shots but that's about it.
The match is picking up a bit. Not sure where it's going though. Who is winning this?
Logan Paul wins via his new "Paulverizer" after AJ Styles refuses to use the brass knuckles at the insistence of Karrion Kross. Decent match. Not incredible, but decent.
The women's tag championship is next, though Bayley was a late scratch from the card. Lyra Valkyria will get a mystery partner to challenge Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan, and popular speculation is that it'll be Becky Lynch. We were wrong about Rusev, so maybe we'll be wrong here?
Lyra rocking the all white wings. I feel like more than one WWE superstar channeled the Easter theme. Lots of angel and Messiah-esque costumes.
Yep. it's Becky. Big Time Becks will fight for the tag titles with Lyra by her side!
Becky not getting a lot of ring time so far. It's mainly been Lyra getting trashed by the champs.
Lyra Valkyria and Becky Lynch get the win and are the new tag-team champions! Valkyria now has two titles to her name in addition to having the Intercontinental Championship.
It's time for the main event! John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes. I think a lot of people think Cena has this in the bag, but it's been a night full of surprises. What will happen?
Stone Cold Steve Austin just showed up!
Stone Cold crashed the 4-wheeler into the security barrier. The commentary team is in stitches.
So, it seemed the WWE staff was talking to the family near the barricade that Stone Cold Steve Austin hit. Hopefully everyone is ok.
John Cena enters with an all-black backdrop. No frills or anything. Stone-faced. I love it.
Cody Rhodes is here wearing some Iron Man skull garb. Dirt bikes are everywhere. It's great.
The crowd is thunderously loud. There hasn't even been a single punch thrown!
Cena looks to be in the best shape he's been in several appearances. He definitely trained for this final run.
Cena is beating the hell out of Cody with some rough shots. He's relying on strength over skills.
Rhodes is hanging in there, but John Cena is not afraid to be a heel. An eye gouge to Rhodes pushes the match back in the veteran's favor.
The slow-motion Five Moves Of Doom was too good. Cody gouged Cena's eyes though!
Cena does a Super-AA to Rhodes and he still kicks out. What more will it take?
Cody gets the pin, but the official is knocked out! John is removing the turnbuckle!
Cena sends Rhodes two times into the exposed turnbuckle. He hits the AA, but Rhodes kicks out due to a late count by the official!
Travis Scott is walking to the ring with a championship belt. Cena looks thrilled. Cody Rhodes is still dazed.
Cody almost gets the win and Travis Scott pulls the official from the ring!
Cena hits Travis Scott with the Cross Rhodes. Cena attempts a sneak attack, but it backfires. He ends up kicking Rhodes in the family jewels and takes him out.
John Cena wins! He is a 17-time world champion!
The crowd is overwhelmingly supportive of John Cena's win. He pulls Travis Scott into the ring and they celebrate.
It's not quite as iconic as when Cody beat Roman Reigns, but I liked the way John Cena won. I'm ready for his heel run and what all he'll do to "ruin wrestling" on his way out the door.
Well, that's a wrap on WrestleMania 41! Night 2 more than made up for what Night 1 lacked! Overall, a memorable two nights, and we didn't even need Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. And to think we have Monday Night Raw tomorrow!
That'll do it for CinemaBlend's coverage of WrestleMania 41 Night 2! Have a good night!