6 Match Star Ratings From WWE WrestleMania 40 Night 2

2. IYO SKY Vs, Bayley - WWE Women's Championship

Cody Rhodes five stars
WWE

IYO Sky Vs. Bayley followed a similar path to the other Women's title match: it started slowly and generated minimal heat as you'd probably have expected, given that the storyline while a traditional hit didn't feel hot throughout the build. 

Sky targeted Bayley's leg early, which made sense but didn't help matters: limb work doesn't play all that well in a stadium setting. Happily, the fans didn't just come up for the finish; Bayley knows how to control an audience and is almost a stealthily great bomb dropper. When Sky ate a gruesome sunset flip bomb into the bottom turnbuckle, the old Bayley crowd reaction materialised. She was serenaded with the "Hey Bayley!" chants as she paced her comeback masterfully. 

Both women built on the atmosphere with a sequence of excellent, sudden momentum shifts: the spot in which Bayley bravely fought through the pain in her knee to attempt a flying elbow drop, only for IYO to trap her with a crossface, completely unglued an enthralled crowd. Even better was the series of moonsaults that Bayley evaded at the third attempt, only for Sky to front-flip out of a Rose Plant. That was superb, heart-stopping pro wrestling excitement. Bayley won, to a stirring reaction, with the flying elbow and Rose Plant combo. 

Watching Bayley finally get her big babyface moment on the main roster was just lovely.

Star Rating: ★★★★

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!