WrestleMania 42: Reigns and Ripley win titles, Lesnar retires

LAS VEGAS -- It would have been hard to imagine a WWE Universe without Roman Reigns.

Fortunately for The Tribal Chief and his legions of adoring fans, he lived to see another day in the industry by defeating CM Punk in an instant classic main event at WrestleMania 42. Reigns secured the win after a 34-minute long battle in which he himself was nearly finished several times, landing his signature spear on a bloodied and battered Punk to regain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and more importantly salvage his career. 

Every so often, there are moments in time in sports and entertainment where you just know you’re watching something that you’ll remember for life. WrestleMania has had a handful of those moments over the years, and Sunday’s bout between Reigns and Punk stands among some of the greatest. Even in defeat, Punk exhibited the exact kind of effort and put on the exact kind of performance that made him one of the most captivating wrestlers in history to begin with. 

And what can you say about Reigns? Year after year, time and time again, he proves he’s not just the biggest star in the modern WWE but is among the pantheon of the greatest wrestling stars in history. For all the criticism his lengthy reigns received over the years, it’s been almost a guarantee throughout the last half-decade plus that he would register a classic on the biggest stage. With a worker as notorious as Punk on the other side, it was all but a guarantee that Sunday’s match would live up to the billing. And boy, did it ever. 

Reigns entered the ring first, putting forth a powerful display as his usual theme song blared while photos of his great Anoa’i elders graced the screen. It was a poignant way for Reigns to walk into his record 11th WrestleMania main event, although there were no noticeable emotions from the always stoic Tribal Chief as he emerged to represent his legendary family in yet another war.

Punk’s entrance was a captivating tribute to his entire pro wrestling career, from his groundbreaking stint with Ring Of Honor to Sunday’s WrestleMania main event. A photo montage of Punk’s greatest hits played over his original ROH theme song, Miseria Cantare by AFI, before he emerged from the tunnel to silence. Punk stared at the monstrous crowd for a few moments, announcing that it was “Clobbering Time!” before the opening notes of his more known theme song, Cult Of Personality by Living Color, blared throughout Allegiant Stadium. 

Ripley is champion again

Rhea Ripley beat Jade Cargill by pinfall to win the WWE Women’s World Championship, thanks to a timely interference from her good friend Iyo Sky. Moments after Sky rendered Cargill’s ringside cohorts useless, Ripley attempted to land a Riptide on Cargill but Cargill promptly denied it and landed a boot to Ripley’s head in return. 

With Cargill holding Ripley's arms behind her back while positioning another slam, Ripley maneuvered between Cargill’s legs and ended up in perfect position for another attempt at a Riptide. This time, the 29-year-old Aussie landed it successfully and three seconds later she was a two-time holder of the most prestigious belt in the history of women’s wrestling.

Ripley's win was among the most popular of the weekend, earning a raucous cheer from a Las Vegas crowd that has showed her plenty of adoration in her stops here throughout the years. With the win, Ripley is now a six-time champion under the WWE/NXT umbrella. 

A star is born, a legend departs 

Night Two kicked off with one of the most anticipated matches of the weekend, as rising star Oba Femi defeated the legendary Brock Lesnar by pinfall at 4:42. Lesnar dominated the majority of the short-lived match and even hit an F5, but Femi reversed momentum sharply by landing a chokeslam before effectively ending the match with a powerbomb. 

Following the match, the 48-year-old Lesnar emotionally took off his boots and placed them in the center of the ring to signify his retirement from an industry in which he gave so much. Lesnar bid a tearful farewell to the WWE faithful present at Allegiant Stadium and those watching throughout the globe, gratefully pounding the canvas with his fists before sharing a hug with his right hand man Paul Heyman. 

While wrestling fans and Lesnar have had a turbulent relationship with each other over the years, the mutual love and respect that underlaid it couldn’t have been any more apparent and further, the moment between Lesnar and the fans couldn’t have been any more genuine. Lesnar’s retirement was seen by a national television audience in the United States, as the first hour of the WrestleMania aired on ESPN’s flagship channel during prime Sunday hours.

Although Lesnar’s career was certainly in the ninth inning and was likely going to come to an end at some point this year, his decision to retire at WrestleMania in Las Vegas instead of at SummerSlam in his hometown of Minneapolis was certainly a shock to the system. According to BodySlam, Lesnar personally selected Femi as the opponent he wanted to face and put over in his retirement match. Given how the crowd reacted to Femi's entrance and his eventual win over "The Beast Incarnate", it's clear the WWE put the rocket on the right man's back.

Other Results

"The Demon" Finn Balor predictably defeated Dominik Mysterio in a street fight, although Dirty Dom did put up far more of a fight than many would have expected. Mysterio successfully landed a 619 chair kick to the head and parlayed that with a frog splash, but even that wasn't enough to kill The Demon. Soon after, Mysterio was laid out onto a table when an airborne Demon landed a stomp off the ringpost, breaking the table and Dirty Dom's remaining will all at once. The pinfall followed shortly after.

Columbia, South Carolina’s own Trick Williams earned his first WWE title with a hard-fought victory over Sami Zayn, finishing the match with a signature “Trick Shot” that incapacitated Zayn and allowed for the pinfall. Williams was accompanied throughout the match by hip-hop superstar Lil Yachty, who took a bump from Zayn but returned the favor with a cheap shot later in the match that ultimately proved vital. 

Penta emerged victorious over Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee, Je’Von Evans, JD McDonagh and Rusev in a high-flying six-pack ladder match that got unanimously rave reviews from both the crowd in attendance and the critics online. The 51-year-old Mysterio especially impressed in the match and looked every bit like he belonged in the ring against his much younger opponents.