Wrestlemania Then and Now: Usos, Rollins and More to Carry Night 1 in L.A.
Expect a lot of heavy story-telling at the biggest show of the year
An initial glance at the card for WWE’s Wrestlemania 39, which takes place over the next two days at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA, reveals a show with the potential to drive home several of the best storylines the company has had to offer in years.
Whereas last year’s Mania in Dallas carried itself with a unique alternation of surreal spectacle (Sami Zayn vs. the Jackass crew, Austin Theory vs. Pat McAfee) and reliably-placed draws from the past (Stone Cold’s long-awaited return, Mr. McMahon’s somewhat sad ring return), this year’s use of Attitude and Ruthless Aggression-era talent at the Super Bowl of pro wrestling seems more exact and looks to be done in most cases to serve current WWE talents in efforts to make them bigger stars.
To that end, the biggest matches of both evenings all feature current talent and do so in very involving story lines that have stoked emotion throughout the so-called WWE Universe for months on end.
This is a company whose potential future is completely hard to predict due to the controversial return of previously disposed (and disgraced) chief Vince McMahon and his apparent determination to sell his baby to the highest bidder. But, while so much is up in the air business-wise for the WWE, creatively it seems to be very much rooted in reliably melodramatic storytelling that aims to produce moment after moment of well-earned catharsis for many inside the ring and outside it over the next two days.
As far as Night 1 of this year’s Mania goes, its gonna be great to see how the battle of the Mysterios plays out, along with the tag team grudge match between the Usos and Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens with all the gold on the line. The other championships on the line tonight — Theory vs. John Cena (U.S. Championship) and Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley (Smackdown Women’s Championship) — are both compelling as well, even if they lack the layered and detailed programming of Dom vs. Rey and Part 1 of the potential destruction of the Bloodline.
Entering this highly anticipated weekend of wrestling, I thought it’d be fun to tie in some excellent and underrated Wrestlemania matches of the past with the action we’re going to get this year. While a lot of times the WWE shamelessly mines its past to get cheap pops and returning viewership at this time of year, legacy does mean a lot to the wrestling business.
Legacy comes in familial connections, connections between wrestlers who’ve trained each other or performed with each other over many years or it comes from wrestlers simply inspiring countless others who’ve watched them across years of Monday nights, Friday nights and Pay-Per-Views (excuse me… Premium Live Events).
In these three examples you can see how the past of WWE helps illuminate the present and give us a good sense of the future, even with a promotion that loves to remind you that “anything can happen” in it.
Stratusfaction Guaranteed
Trish Stratus reigned as an early 2000s women’s champion that offered an evolved take of what ladies in the ring can do. Stratus gave you the pin-up looks of a Sable from the Attitude Era, but with much better athleticism and ring savvy. Those latter qualities were in full display in this gem of a three-way match from Mania 19 in Seattle back in 2003.
This match is worth watching for the physicality involved, a rarer proposition in the average WWE women’s match 20 years ago then it is now. This match was a showcase for Stratus, who would go on to prevail and win what was then a record fourth women’s championship (tied with The Fabulous Moolah). She’d prove herself as a draw and an influence but her other two combatants deserve their flowers too, especially Jazz, who is as tough a female the wrestling business has produced and is just as worthy of a spot in the WWE’s Hall of Fame as Stratus. One could also make an argument for Victoria, who’s held multiple titles in WWE and TNA.
Stratus, while technically in retirement, remains a draw, as proven by her involvement in Mania 39, where she’s teaming up this evening with fellow HOF Lita and future HOF Becky Lynch against Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky). There have been whispers of Stratus maybe making a heel turn in this match or soon after in order to set up a later match with Lynch.
This “Freakin” Guy
Seth “Freakin” Rollins is in the process of putting together a Wrestlemania legacy that can be held up with a select few titans of the business. Along with his “greatest heist of all time” Money in the Bank cash-in at Mania 31 he’s beaten the likes of Triple H and Brock Lesnar in showcase matches at Mania 33 and 35 respectively.
Over the last three years, Rollins has added to his resume at the show of shows with stellar matches against Kevin Owens, Cesaro and the returning Cody Rhodes respectively, but he lost all three of those contests. That streak in and of itself adds a level of urgency to a character who in its latest iteration has reveled in a cackling, Joker-like randomness that distracts from Rollins’ recent inability to win big matches.
At this year’s Mania, against the naturally-hateable social media giant and wunderkind sports entertainer Logan Paul, Rollins promises a win, or otherwise, as he said on Raw earlier this week, he’s nothing but “a joke.”
This more serious Rollins is a welcome sight and he should be foreshadowing a performance much like the one above at Mania 31, the precursor to the show’s end where he out-did and out-smarted Lesnar and Roman Reigns in the main event - a show-stealing moment to end all show-stealing moments. But how Rollins took that RKO in a losing effort before the sun set over Levi’s Stadium first showed how this “freakin” guy can look good no matter the result in the ring.
For the Family
Whether as faces or heels, shooting or working, Jey and Jimmy Uso have existed as devoted brothers in all areas of their life and for that they stand today as arguably the most successful blood brother duo in wrestling history.
Despite their place in the proud lineage of legendary Samoan wrestlers, things didn’t come easy for the Usos, especially when it came to Wrestlemania. For several years, the two noticeably were placed at matches at the very beginnings of the show, if they made it on at all.
An early breakthrough occurred at Mania 30, when in that night’s kickoff (pre-game) show they won a four-way tag-team match where they defended the tag-team championship, but by the end of that night all everyone could talk about was Daniel Bryan’s triumph.
Flash forward to Mania 35, in a match The Sportster calls the Usos’ best to date at Wrestlemania, Rikishi’s boys won another four-team match. A quick aside about these four-team matches: they’ve really become common-place at Manias as of late, given their ability to involve a high number of talents at once. They also seem to speak to the reported disregard overall that McMahon had for tag wrestling, especially given their typical place in the pre-show hours.
Still, the Usos made the most of their opportunities and kept plugging away. Its been that way for years until in the post-pandemic glow of the Bloodline story, Jey has become “Main Event” Jey, a possible foil to Reigns when he and his brother aren’t dutiful enforcers for the Head of the Table.
A peek of the Usos we know now could be seen in the interview video above and their statement regarding not staying on the sidelines anymore comes through loudly in the work they’ve done since — Jimmy and Jey are firmly in the middle of things now, drawing money and ratings all over the place and their match with Zayn and Owens just has to be the last match of Night 1 this year.
In another interview after the match at 30, the Usos are much more humble and speak of the advice their elders gave them and how much support and love they’ve received. It won’t be quite like that tonight — more folks are looking for them to lose than win at the newly christened “WrestleZAYNia” — but the Usos’ role in getting over a couple of at-times listless talents like Zayn and Owens as well as redefining themselves and the role of the Samoan dynasty in the WWE has made this Mania the “Ucey-ist” Mania yet.
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