John Cena becomes the most decorated WWE wrestler in history at WrestleMania

With John Cena capturing the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championship for an unprecedented 17th time, WrestleMania has come to an end.

With the victory over Cody Rhodes, which followed unexpected intervention from musician Travis Scott, Cena has surpassed Ric Flair as the most successful world champion in the company’s history.

This was the last WrestleMania for the most decorated wrestler to ever enter a WWE ring, since Cena had previously declared he would retire at the end of 2025 (though most people know that in wrestling, you never say never).

Amidst additional twists and shocks, several new champions were crowned, but none were more important than the weekend’s last match.

The fact that this was the first WrestleMania to stream live on Netflix, where many of the company’s 300 million customers worldwide could watch, was only one of the many reasons it was a historic night.

WWE’s weekly programs and monthly events will be available on the streaming service for ten years, at a cost of $5 billion (£4 billion), albeit not all areas will be able to watch them all.

WrestleMania aired mostly without any issues, suggesting that Netflix’s expertise broadcasting WWE events since January has paid off. The company claims that the first live show received slightly under five million views.

When WWE revealed that it had bought Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, one of the biggest wrestling companies in Mexico, the businesses had an even stronger case to make for its importance before the first bell rang.

Fans, meanwhile, will argue that everything is good and dandy and that what counts is what goes on behind the ropes.

Few people would leave disappointed on that front.

A family matter
Three of WWE’s greatest talents performed on the first night of the program, which could be considered to have two main events: one on Saturday and another on Sunday.

In a fight the corporation marketed as generational, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and CM Punk faced off, partly because Punk, 46, made it to his first WrestleMania main event.

The encounter played up to the hype, with lots of dramatic moments and false endings before a series of twists culminated to Rollins standing tall. The audience had already solidly backed punk.

With Jey Uso’s victory over Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship—the other major title men compete for in the WWE—the weekend had begun on a positive note.

As Uso won his first world championship to start the program on Saturday, surpassing the career accomplishments of his father, 90s and 00s wrestler Rikishi, the over 60,000 fans in attendance were not let down.

Dominik Mysterio, the son of WWE icon Rey Mysterio, won the Intercontinental Championship, his first-ever championship in the organization, so this wasn’t the only occasion to celebrate legacy.

The New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) defeated the War Raiders, while Jacob Fatu won his first WWE championship by defeating the well-liked LA Knight for the United States Championship. The title changes didn’t end there.

However, championship exchanges were not the only significant events.

Lynch is back.

Throughout championship fights, rivalries, and a significant comeback for a fan favorite, the ladies of WWE had a tremendous weekend.

First, after a year away from the ring, one of the most well-liked ladies in the company’s history, Becky Lynch, made an unexpected comeback, causing several in the live audience to cry.

Lynch made a successful comeback, defeating champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez to capture the Women’s Tag Team Championships with Lyra Valkyria.

By this point, WWE fans had already been treated to a number of outstanding fights. On Saturday, Jade Cargill, who had come from rival organization AEW a year prior, defeated Naomi, while Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair engaged in a furious battle for the Women’s World Championship.

Halfway through her maiden championship reign, Stratton defeated Flair to defend her title in what seemed like a symbolic passing of the torch from one of the most illustrious WWE champions to the fresh blood.

The Women’s World Championship opening involving Iyo Sky, Rhea Ripley, and Bianca Belair had the live audience standing up on Sunday.

In what has already been called “an instant classic” by some internet commentators, Sky successfully defended her championship in a showcase match that featured all three ladies.

Advertisements interfere with games.
However, things weren’t always easy for WWE.

While the program was well-received by fans for the in-ring action, one thing that didn’t go unnoticed was the abundance of ads during the event.

In recent years, WWE furniture has frequently featured company labels inscribed on the canvas of the ring and a sports drink brand that is associated with YouTuber-turned-wrestler Logan Paul, who faced AJ Styles on Sunday.

However, compared to past years, this WrestleMania looked to have a lot more advertisements. One fan even referred to it as “Ad-a-Mania” and said it was “challenging to even focus” on the action.

The advertisements were also included into the show itself, as many wrestlers wearing unique video game-promoting outfits made their way to the ring.

And that’s all before the action was divided by the commercial breaks.

Those who previously have a Netflix membership, however, should keep in mind that this is the first WrestleMania they won’t have to pay extra to watch.

Although this event is frequently marketed as a spectacle comparable to the cup finals, there is one significant distinction: WWE will begin the next chapter of its never-ending soap opera tomorrow.

Fans will undoubtedly be pleased with what they witnessed in the ring this weekend, even though Netflix executives’ opinions will ultimately boil down to statistics.

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