7 Match Star Ratings From WWE WrestleMania 40 Night 1

6. Six-Pack Ladder Match - Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship

The Rock three stars
WWE

How much you subjectively rated the six-pack ladder match will depend on your tolerance for R-Truth's children's entertainer gimmick. Much of the match was built around Truth and his failure to grasp the rules of it. WWE have promoted about 800 of the things since he signed his last deal. How has he not worked it out yet?

From the cynical tone here, you can infer that your writer is 30 years older than the intended audience, but the stadium lost it for his antics and as far as the worst punchlines go, they were timed well. The eruption was felt throughout the stadium when Truth played face-in-peril and hot-tagged Johnny Gargano. For those in the arena who are above eight years old, or are aware of comedy as a genre across multiple mediums like film and television and stand-up, luckily, the other teams built a committed and exciting ladder spot-fest around the skits. The match-within-a-match between #DIY and New Catch Republic verged on pretty awesome. Gargano's arpon DDT to Pete Dunne through a table was a class spot, and while everything else was familiar, it all played really well live. The gruesome bump onto and almost through the suspended ladder always looks incredible. 

Again, if you love WWE, you were probably in dreamland: this boasted the daft but undeniably effective tonal range of sports entertainment, spanning the trivial and the trope-y violent stunt show - but if you're a fan of pro wrestling, you can hardly deny the heel heat generated by JD McDonagh and the effective dramatic timing of his interfere sequence. The crowd got the euphoric happy ending when R-Truth retrieved one set of belts, but also loved to hate the other victory scored by A Town Down Under. 

As "something for everyone" as WWE gets.

Star Rating: ★★★½

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!