All it took was one heel turn. Roman Reigns was a disaster as a babyface champion, and all of his WrestleMania main events were near dreadful affairs. In 2020 he took some time away from WWE and returned as the bad guy that we all wanted him to be. That moment set him up to finally live up to his potential as the best performer in the company.

The Bloodline saga was punctuated with two top-notch WrestleMania main events this year. There were plenty of other good matches that exceeded expectations, but this was The Bloodline show. Cody Rhodes won the fans over and was the betting favorite on offshore betting websites, but it was not meant to be for him. Roman Reigns was set to maintain his grip on the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship the whole time. The initial critical reaction was that Reigns vs. Rhodes was the greatest WrestleMania main event of all time. It might be a bit early to make that call, but it certainly felt like an important match that will be remembered fondly.

WrestleMania Sunday overcame two significant injuries to close the weekend on a strong note. Both nights were captivating from start to finish.  Most of the undercard matches were wildly entertaining. Matches were kept simple, and they were based on storylines that resonated with the audience. The broadcast duo of Corey Graves and Michael Cole nailed it on commentary.

The critical acclaim for this WrestleMania is no doubt due to the creative direction of WWE content under the stewardship of Triple H. He clearly learned well under the tutelage of Vince McMahon but brought a fresh perspective to the approach of storyline and character development that connected with the fans.

There were more ups than downs, and many wrestlers came out of the weekend in a better place in their careers, having elevated their status through their performances, or by cementing indelible WrestleMania legacies. The winners far outnumbered the losers.

The Losers

• Bobby Lashley: Got the short end of the stick when Bray Wyatt had to pull out of action. The big guy deserved a spot on the card and didn’t get it.
• Dominik Mysterio: Come on, kid! If you are going to step up to your old man, you better beat him.
• Shane McMahon: Legitimately tore his quadricep muscle seconds into his first in-ring action in over a year. Maybe his body is telling him something.
• Gable Steveson: Remember Steveson being introduced to the crowd twice during WrestleMania 38? What happened to him since then?

The Winners

• Austin Theory: Welcome to the big time, son. A victory over John Cena at WrestleMania is as good as it gets.
• Logan Paul: Triple H said it best, “he has no business being this good”.
• Seth “Freakin” Rollins: Seth can be counted on to work with anybody anywhere and make it look great. He continues to author a great WrestleMania legacy for himself.
• Gunther: What a great Intercontinental Championship run for this ethnic heel. He got a late start to his main roster WWE career, let’s see what else he is capable of.
• Sheamus: Just put this guy in the Hall of Fame now. Sheamus has quietly been one of the most important players in WWE over the course of his decade plus career.
• Drew McIntyre: Drew carried the championship well during the closed-arena era for WWE. But his calling card of late has been his ability to capture a moment. He did just that, along with Sheamus and Gunther in this match.
• Snoop Dogg: Does Snoop even know how to throw a working punch? Or run the ropes? Or drop a People’s Elbow? None of that stuff is easy! Well, he sure figured it out on the fly.
• “The Demon” Finn Bálor: He recovered from a nasty cut that stopped the match and put on a show with Edge. This was the best WWE match the 41-year old has been involved in.
• Edge: He is already in the Hall of Fame so it’s not like he needs to add to his legacy. But he sure did anyway. With Triple H retired, he got to take over the “cool entrance” spot with his Brood Edge character set to Slayer’s “South of Heaven”. Amazing!
• Kevin Owens: If you are keeping score at home, this is the second WrestleMania main event in a row for the kid from Quebec who learned English from watching WWE programming. Is there a cooler story?
• Sami Zayn: The MVP of the WWE was prominently featured in both WrestleMania main events. He knocked it out of the park this year.
• The Usos: They already surpassed Demolition and The New Day with the length of their title run. But most importantly, they are the backbone of the Bloodline, and I don’t think Roman would be as good without them.
• Solo Sikoa: This rookie played a critical role in the main event. He wasn’t a competitor in the match, but he hit his time cues perfectly and delivered the final blow to Cody before the match-ending spear from Roman. Solo played his part perfectly.
• Paul Heyman: Roman Reigns is in the midst of one of the greatest championship runs ever, but Paul Heyman gets to wear the championship title belts to and from the ring. That pretty much makes him the coolest dude in WWE.
• Cody Rhodes: He got his big WrestleMania main event and will be remembered for this match forever. This loss isn’t going to set him back, it is just another chapter in his story. Watch this space.
• Roman Reigns: The face of the WWE is in his prime and delivered his best WrestleMania match yet. Look for him to be in this spot again next year in Philadelphia.