WrestleMania 38: The biggest pro wrestling show of the year is here

The biggest pro-wrestling show of the year is here, as WWE puts on night one of its two-part WrestleMania 38 extravaganza.

Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair are set to collide in the final match while the main event itself will see Kevin Owens welcome ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin for an edition of ‘The KO Show’.

But it’s unclear exactly what that means – a match? A physical confrontation? It has to be something big to deserve capping off WrestleMania.

11:48am – Belair def Lynch for the Raw women’s title

These women are very good & got plenty of time. Belair wins the title with the KOD – that’s her second consecutive spectacular WrestleMania match. She’s one of the best big-match performers in the company. ****1/2

WWE is so good at these big-time WrestleMania entrances that make the wrestlers feel like huge stars (despite some of the pre-WM booking).

Lynch came out in a big car with a fancy graphics package intro (and was still popular because the heel turn just hasn’t stuck); Belair got a Texas Southern college marching band performance.

They went for a repeat of the SummerSlam finish (hey remember when Belair looked silly?), going for an opening handshake before a quick Lynch finisher, but Belair kicked out.

Belair had an awesome combo of dropping Lynch on the top rope combined with a Bret’s rope 450 splash, though her recovery at nine on a potential 10-count was less than convincing.

We got a Sasha Banks video package after this match, reminding us of how she’s being squandered in the tag title mix tomorrow.

Seth Rollins v Mystery Opponent is next.

11:15am – Steph & Steveson segment

Stephanie McMahon came out to introduce Olympic gold medallist and two-time college heavyweight wrestling champion Gable Steveson, so he could wave.

He’s gonna be on Raw in the future.

Becky Lynch v Bianca Belair is next – so we’re getting a recap of the build where Belair looked so cool at Mania last year and then… let’s say, didn’t at SummerSlam. Meanwhile Lynch had to keep claiming the fans had turned on her despite… let’s say, they didn’t.

11:08am – Miz and Logan Paul def The Mysterios

Miz & Paul got the win when the Mysterios both frog splashed Paul, but Miz had blind-tagged himself in and hit the Skull Crushing Finale on Rey.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say Paul is already a better wrestler than Dominik, and probably Corbin from earlier in the show too; he did the Three Amigos at one point and he’s such a natural heel.

For whatever reason Miz turned on Paul at the end. I guess he’s turning face, completely out of nowhere.

The Mysterios wore Los Gringos Locos tribute gear – nice tribute to Eddie Guerrero and a throwback to the famous When Worlds Collide PPV.

10:43am – Drew McIntyre def Happy Corbin

McIntyre overcomes the odds (TM John Cena) and even kicks out of the End of Days – hey, they built a move up and then made the kick-out valuable, nice! – getting the pin after the Claymore.

He really deserves to be higher up the card than this and worked hard given his opponent to make this better than the regular TV-level match I was expecting. ***

In the post-match McIntyre tried to hit Madcap Moss with the sword, theoretically attempting to murder him, and instead slashed the top two ropes. So that’s fun.

Rey Mysterio and his large adult son vs Logan Paul and The Miz is next.

The tide has turned in the favor of @WWERollins!@CodyRhodes #WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/yeaqlxOqdv

— WWE (@WWE) April 3, 2022

10:22am – The Usos def Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs in the opener

Boogs went down complaining of a knee injury after trying to carry both Usos, and the champs ended up pinning Nakamura after the 1D.

However F4WOnline’s Bryan Alvarez reported it was a legit injury and that the finish was changed because of it. Seems likely they went to the finish early, which hurt the match. **1/2

Dave Meltzer later reported Boogs had suffered a torn patella tendon.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, they’re clearly still sweetening the crowd noise.

10:09am – First match confirmed, plus the claimed attendance

We’re underway in Dallas, with the SmackDown tag titles on the line first – The Usos vs Nakamura and Boogs.

But most interestingly, Michael Cole promoted “over 70,000” fans inside AT&T Stadium. That’s still an exaggeration given they set up for 60,000, but also an admission they won’t be getting near the record from a few years ago.

Also there’s a bloke in a Souths jersey in the front row, because of course there is.

9:43am – Who are the favourites to win on WrestleMania Saturday?

Bookmakers in Australia have started listing odds for WrestleMania matches, meaning we can get a glimpse of who the ‘favourites’ are based on storylines and general wisdom.

Ronda Rousey ($1.18) is a short-priced favourite to defeat Charlotte Flair ($4.50), while Bianca Belair ($1.37) is viewed as slightly less likely to take the title off of Becky Lynch ($3) in the women’s championship matches.

The Usos ($1.35) are tipped to retain over Nakamura and Boogs ($3.10), with Drew McIntyre ($1.08) a heavy favourite over Happy Corbin ($7).

The Mysterios ($1.42) are expected to knock off The Miz & Logan Paul ($2.75), despite the strong history of celebrities winning at Mania, while there should be more happy faces if The New Day ($1.58) beats Sheamus & Ridge Holland ($2.30).