4 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE WrestleMania 41 - Night 1 (Results & Review)

3. After Everything, Underwhelming Execution

WWE WrestleMania 41 Night 1 Jey Uso Gunther
WWE

The Jey Uso/Gunther feud has seen its peaks and valleys during the past several months, but the build to WrestleMania 41 rebounded and peaked at just the right moment, heading into Saturday’s event.

And then the bell rang.

Any expectations about a brutal, bloody slugfest that built sympathy for Jey and ended with him overcoming the odds were dashed in a match that was average at best, with a coupl ofe nice exchanges. Gunther’s demolition of Jimmy Uso had far more drama and tension than this match did.

The match was mostly a basic affair, with Gunther chopping and powerbombing Jey, and Uso coming back with spears and splashes. Gunther grabbed his title at one point and decked Jey when the referee ducked an Uso charge, but the moment didn’t feel earned – the Ring General had been in control until Jey strung together a bit of offense and got a two count.

The finish, which saw Jey powerbomb, superkick, spear, and splash the World Heavyweight Champion before getting Gunther to tap to a sleeper, came quickly and lacked the dramatic feeling you might expect for such a moment.

It’s a shame that this didn’t measure up, especially considering how big the title win itself was for Jey.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.