8 Live Observations From WWE Post-WrestleMania Monday Night Raw

4. A Tale Of Two Headliners

Seth Rollins Cody Rhodes
WWE

24 hours earlier, 'The Tribal Chief' was successful in a match WWE billed (amongst other things) as the "biggest match in WrestleMania history".

It wasn’t great.

Nor, regrettably, was this. Long entrance, long insecure Paul Herman promo about business metrics, long build to the two words and a long trip home in a literal Texas tornado that followed after the show.

Or did if you left after the dark match anyway. Most did. And that was because Cody Rhodes worked it. A cute Kevin Owens five minuter had exactly what WWE wants for these slots, but he was received - for the second time that evening no less - as a massive star.

Perhaps these comparisons were there to be drawn for a reason. Cody's quest for the WWE Championship could take him to next year's WrestleMania, as long as the positives he's brought over from his former employers can be applied to his new surrounds.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett