9 Live Observations From WWE WrestleMania 38 Night 2

3. The New Day Vs Sheamus & Ridge Holland

Stone Cold Steve Austin
WWE.com

A strange set of circumstances suddenly made this match more of a conversation-starter than it might have been in its original Night One slot.

Cut for time due to all the other things going on, the quartet-plus-Butch were inserted here but couldn't have felt more like an obligation as they raced through their match in a mere 1:40.

The New Day, Sheamus and Ridge Holland would already have been working under something of a cloud thanks to the absence of the beloved Big E. But on a blisteringly hot card that had no time for them on Saturday, that he supersubs were only given one hundred seconds to tell the story felt unnecessarily cruel.

Indulgence of others robbed them on Saturday, while the ineptitude of their bosses did the same the next night. When expectations are set as low as they were for this, it proved an ugly embarrassment that they couldn't clear the bar.

Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods looked amazing in their Big E tribute gear. Let that be the sole takeaway of note in place of anything that happened in the ring.

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