WrestleMania 38 Night 1 recap: Cody Rhodes returns, Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch shine

The first night of WrestleMania 38 lived up to the hype of being the first half of WWE’s biggest event of the year.

Saturday's biggest moments were the highly anticipated — even if not totally unexpected — return of Cody Rhodes, Bianca Belair’s championship win in an instant classic match against Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair retaining her championship against Ronda Rousey, and Stone Cold Steve Austin closing out the night with a beatdown of Kevin Owens in his first match in nearly two decades.

Here’s a complete recap of what went down on night one:

The Usos (c.) vs Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs for the Smackdown tag team championship – WrestleMania got off to an electric start courtesy of Nakamura and Boogs’s infectious entrance. Nakamura’s theme remains one of the best WWE has and it got the crowd at AT&T Stadium immediately into the match. Nakamura started off hot before being overwhelmed by the Usos’ tag team tactics. Nakamura and Jimmy Uso each landed hot tags to their respective partners. Boogs showed off his strength by transitioning Jey Uso from a bearhug into a standing suplex — going down to one knee in the process. The Usos piled onto Boogs’s shoulders and he sold a knee injury, turning the match into a de facto two-on-one. Later in the show WWE would announce that Boogs tore his quad and would require surgery. Nakamura kicked out of a frog splash in the match’s biggest false finish before Jey Uso held his hair in the corner, leading to a Superkick, Day One finisher and a win for the Usos.

Result: The Usos win by pinfall, retaining their Smackdown tag team championships

Drew McIntyre vs Happy Corbin – McIntyre and Corbin had been feuding for several months leading up to WrestleMania. The match started off with back and forth action between the two big men before Corbin sent McIntyre into a ringpost and a barricade on the floor. McIntyre, the babyface in this feud, rallied before getting hit with Corbin’s Deep Six signature move. McIntyre kicked out, and was looking to land a Claymore Kick, but Madcap Moss pulled Corbin out of the ring. McIntyre landed a stunning Swanton over the top rope on both Moss and Corbin. McIntyre would kick out of Corbin’s End of Days finisher before landing a Future Shock DDT and Claymore Kick to pick up the win. After the match, McIntyre sliced the top rope in half with his sword.

Result: Drew McIntyre wins by pinfall

Logan Paul and The Miz vs. The Mysterios – The first in a series of celebrity matches at WrestleMania 38 set the bar high as Logan Paul, The Miz and the Mysterios combined for a match that was far more entertaining than anyone could have reasonably expected. The Mysterios entered first, wearing flashy gear representing the United States and Mexico and paying homage to the late Eddy Guerrero. Paul’s brash persona that earned him millions and millions of social media followers was on full display as he wore a $900K Pikachu Illustrator Pokemon card to the ring.

Once the match started, it didn’t take long for Paul to get involved, landing a few punches and sharing a quick exchange with Rey Mysterio before tagging out. Paul worked sporadically during the match, mixing in some smooth moves and classic heel tactics. Paul’s longest exchange came in the latter stages of the match where he landed the Three Amigos suplex on Rey Mysterio and a frog splash — two of Guerrero’s signature moves. Dominik Mysterio saved his father from getting pinned and in a chaotic final segment, Paul took a dual 619 finisher, The Miz sneakily tagged in and landed a Skull-Crushing Finale on Rey Mysterio to win the match. After the victory, Miz turned on Paul, setting up a potential showdown between the two at a future WWE event.

Result: The Miz and Logan Paul win by pinfall

Between the Miz/Paul tag match and Lynch-Belair, Stephanie McMahon introduced Gable Steveson, the Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA wrestling champ who is signed to an NIL deal with WWE.

Becky Lynch (c.) vs Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship – Lynch entered onto the WrestleMania stage in a white SUV, wearing all black and with her classic steam going off in lieu of pyro; Belair, in one of the most unique entrances in WrestleMania history, came out alongside the Texas Southern University’s — one of nation’s largest HBCUs — marching band. Belair was wearing a bright, red, sparkling band leader uniform.

The highly anticipated match between the two former WrestleMania main event winners began with a Belair handshake that was met with a Lynch punch. Lynch looked to win quickly, nearly mirroring the SummerSlam finish between the two stars; Lynch maintained control early before the two women worked through dozens of quick reversals and pinning combinations. Lynch, the heel in the match, dragged Belair by her hair outside of the ring and rammed her into the steps. Lynch then landed a trio of Becksploder suplexes before Belair’s rally inevitably started. Belair’s flurry of offense was capped off with a remarkable 450-degree splash from the second rope. The two stars traded major moved before Lynch gained the upper hand by again using Belair’s hair against her and landing a Manhandle Slam on the steps. Belair beat the ten count to make it back into the ring where Lynch showed frustration, exhaustion. Belair then countered Lynch near the turnbuckle to land a middle-of-the-ring KOD and win the match and leave WrestleMania as a champion in a show-stopping match for the second straight year.

Result: Bianca Belair wins by pinfall to become new Raw women’s champion

Seth Rollins vs Cody Rhodes – It was one of the worst-kept secrets in professional wrestling, but that didn’t make Cody Rhodes’s return to WWE any less impactful. As Rollins awaited his mystery opponent, AT&T Stadium went dark and Rhodes’s intro “wrestling has more than one royal family” hit and the crowd erupted. After six years away, and helping to create WWE’s primary competitor in AEW, Rhodes came back to WWE in the biggest way possible.

The early stages of the match had Rollins and Rhodes feeling each other out, with Rhodes even doing a callback to his former WWE character Stardust. Ironically, it appeared through the early-to-mid portions of the match that both Rollins and Rhodes were working heel. Rollins worked on Rhodes’ midsection while Rhodes focused on Rollins’s arm. The action quickly turned hectic, with the two stars trading massive finishers and high-risk maneuvers. The closing segment featured an inverted superplex by Rollins, a top-rope Cody Cutter, and a Rollins Pedigree — with extra implications considering Rhodes’s initial WWE departure. Eventually, Rhodes would gain enough momentum to land three CrossRhodes finishers and a tribute to his dad, the late Dusty Rhodes, and leave WrestleMania victorious.

Result: Cody Rhodes wins by pinfall

WWE followed the Rollins-Rhodes match with the introduction of the 2022 Hall of Fame class – The Steiner Brothers, Vader, Queen Sharmell, Warrior Award recipient Shad Gaspard, and the Undertaker.

WWE announced 77,899 attendees for the first night of WrestleMania.

Charlotte Flair (c.) vs. Ronda Rousey for the SmackDown women’s championship – In the night’s main event, Rousey started out fast, gaining the upper hand with punches and kicks before Flair, a natural heel, utilized a cheap shot to rally back. Rousey, whose angle heading into the match was her determination to make Flair submit, focused on submission holds for much of the match. Flair inevitably forced Rousey outside the ring, throwing her into the ringpost in the process. The action was very much back and forth before Rousey landed an armdrag from the top rope, Piper’s Pit finisher and looked for an armbar in succession. After a near submission, Flair put Rousey into the Figure 8 which Rousey reverses in a moment that announcers Pat McAfee and Michael Cole sell as the first time it has ever happened. Action again spilled outside with a vicious Rousey armbar and Flair exploder suplex into the crowd barricade before both women were nearly counted out.

The duo had a pair of near-falls as Flair managed to get her foot on the ropes, breaking up a pin, and Rousey kicked out after taking Flair’s Natural Selection finisher. The frantic closing sequence featured Flair again going for the Figure 8, Rousey shoving her off and into a spear of the referee, Charles Robinson. With the official knocked out, Rousey makes Flair tap to her armbar. As Rousey goes to get Robinson’s attention, Flair lands a big boot and pins Rousey to retain her title.

Result: Charlotte Flair wins by pinfall to retain the Smackdown women’s championship

KO Show featuring Kevin Owens and Stone Cold Steve Austin – Owens and Austin closed the show, with Owens launching a tirade insulting Texas — where WrestleMania is held and Austin’s home state — and the WWE Hall of Famer himself. Owens was interrupted by Austin’s iconic entrance music and the 57-year-old came out in jean shorts and two knee braces, a callback to his heyday. Austin then retreated and returned riding an ATV. Owens, ever the entertainer and showman, yawned during and interrupted Austin’s full entrance.

Once the segment started, Austin ripped Owens to a cheering stadium and showed the complete control he still has over a massive wrestling fanbase. Owens challenged Austin to a no holds barred match despite Austin having not wrestled in WWE in 19 years.

Austin accepted the fight and began to beat down Owens with punches and kicks. As the action went outside the ring, Austin took a bump against the barricade before continuing his onslaught on Owens. Owens would mount some offense by sending Austin into the ringpost and setting up a table. Naturally, Austin wound up sending Owens into his own table.

Austin and Owens’s fight spilled into the crowd, with Owens suplexing Austin and beating down the Texas Rattlesnake. After some back and forth fist-fighting, Austin tossed Owens onto the announce table, drank three beers and sent the match back into the ring — briefly. Owens escaped the ring, attempted to steal Austin’s ATV and the two rode the vehicle to the top of the stage and Austin unleashed a pair of suplexes.

Back in the ring, Austin took a stunner and barely kicked out. Owens, looking to capitalize, grabbed a steel chair, missed Austin and took a blow to the head before eating a Stone Cold Stunner and losing to the WWE legend.