Johnny Knoxville defeats Sami Zayn

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Editor’s note: Full recaps of Night 1 of WrestleMania 38 can be found here.

After the return of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, a signature win for Bianca Belair and another memorable WrestleMania victory for Charlotte Flair, WrestleMania 38 continues on Sunday night with plenty of big matches.

Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar will take center stage in the main event in a match to determine the undisputed WWE champion. Both the WWE championship and the Universal championship will be on the line in the “Winner Take All” match, and after months of an intense buildup with Paul Heyman in the center of it, the two will finally get their match on Sunday night.

Two tag team titles will be on the line as Raw’s tag team champions RK-Bro aim to retain against the Street Profits and Alpha Academy, while Carmella and Queen Zelina will battle Naomi and Sasha Banks, Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley and Natalya and Shayna Baszler in a Fatal 4-way match for the women’s gold.

There are also a number of unique participants on Sunday night, with Pat McAfee stepping away from the broadcast booth to face Austin Theory, Johnny Knoxville trying to get the best of Sami Zayn in an “Anything Goes” match and Bobby Lashley faces Omos in what could be a first big test for the tallest man in WWE.

Get caught up with how we got here with our Lapsed Fan’s guide, and follow along as we recap every match as it happens.

Match in progress: Edge vs. AJ Styles

Results:

Women’s tag team championship: Naomi & Sasha Banks def. Carmella & Queen Zelina (c), Liv Morgan & Rhea Ripley and Natalya & Shayna Baszler

Sasha Banks pinned Carmella and her glittery mask to give The Boss and Naomi the women’s tag team titles. The finisher was unique as Naomi held Carmella aloft as Banks came off the ropes, did a somersault and landed a Codebreaker on Carmella. This is the third time Banks has held the tag titles.

This was what we typically see in a four-way tag match. There wasn’t really a through line to the finish, but there were some fun spots along the way. Of note: Morgan and Ripley delivering power bombs from opposite corners as the six other competitors were on the turnbuckles.

Also a shout out to Rhea Ripley’s eye makeup, which made her look like she was possessed by Dormammu of the Dark Dimension.

What’s next: The Queen and Carmella will get a return match for the belts, but this could be the start of a productive reign for Naomi and Sasha.

Anything Goes Match — Johnny Knoxville def. Sami Zayn

If you’re going to have the star of “Jackass Forever” perform at WrestleMania, it is best to make it as absolutely absurd as possible. Mission accomplished, as Knoxville defeated Zayn in a match whose preposterousness piled up as fast as Knoxville’s career injuries.

Knoxville, aka “The South Knoxville Strong Guy,” arrived in a red and white superhero costume complete with protective goggles — which we immediately realized were to protect him from the fire extinguisher blast that happened in the first two minutes of the match.

There was a stop sign, garbage can, garbage can lids, a crutch, a cookie sheet, a table broken by an Exploder suplex by Zayn, an air horn used by Knoxville to stop a Helluva Kick, Chris “Party Boy” Pontius in a thong, Wee Man appearing from under the ring before body slamming Zayn and then taking a kick straight to the face, a bowling ball delivered to Zayn’s groin followed by a prosthetic leg with a boot arriving at the same place, a taser and a giant slapping hand that was, as Pat McAfee said, “the size of Wee Man.”

For better or worse, this match had everything.

Knoxville got the win, and the finish was like a “Jackass Forever” deleted scene. Early in the match, Zayn found a table under the ring that had a few dozen mouse traps glued to it. This became “Chekhov’s table full of mousetraps,” as it factored into his eventual demise. Zayn tentatively climbed to the top rope, as Knoxville had previously triggered ring post pyro to spook him. Knoxville arrived with a pair of BBQ tongs to Sami’s most sensitive of areas, and hurled Sami onto the aforementioned mouse trap table.

With the help of the Jackass crew, Knoxville brought a giant mouse trap into the ring. He tasered Zayn, who dropped down “where the cheese goes,” according to McAfee. Knoxville had some difficulty triggering the gimmick trap, but eventually sprung it across Sami’s chest for the utterly hilarious pin.

What’s next: Hopefully Knoxville as champion of a revitalized and comedy-centric WWE hardcore division, but probably not. As for Zayn, it’ll be hard to top these comedic heights — how about something a little more serious and a challenge to regain the intercontinental title?

Bobby Lashley def. Omos

This match had the weakest build of anything on the two-night card and delivered as such, perhaps in an even more confusing manner than anticipated.

Lashley played the underdog in the match, as Omos was put over as the physically superior competitor. Which, again, would make for a compelling story if it wasn’t for the fact that the sentient bicep standing across from him nicknamed “The Almighty” is anything but a physical underdog.

After a plodding few minutes, Lashley recovered from a bear hug to deliver a no-margin-for-error suplex on the 7-foot-3 Omos, and then delivered a spear and eventually the pin.

What’s next: Bobby Lashley leaves the match looking really strong and powerful, which we already knew about Bobby Lashley. Omos gets absolutely no benefit from this loss, which makes the result even more curious. Why not let Lashley get some power spots in to keep his reputation intact but get Omos the win to build his momentum? Unless there’s no momentum to build, that is?

Raw tag-team championships: RK-Bro (Matt Riddle & Randy Orton) (c) def. The Street Profits and Alpha Academy

The opening match on Night 2 whipped the Dallas crowd into a “This is awesome!” chanting frenzy, as a wild no-DQ, no-countout match reached an incredible crescendo.

With Orton down and the ring cleared, Montez Ford prepared for a top-rope finisher. Riddle returned from the outside, jumped up the turnbuckle and delivered a top-rope RKO on Ford, who bounced out of the ring after impact. With Riddle down after the maneuver, Chad Gable of Alpha Academy climbed the ropes to finish Riddle off only to get caught midflight by Orton for an RKO. Orton pinned Gable to end the match and keep the titles with RK-Bro.

This was just a really fun, wild, spot-fest between three teams with unique chemistry. Riddle and Orton pulled off a synchronized ropes-assisted DDT. The Profits pulled off a sky-high Blockbuster on Gable. But my favorite “wrestling logic” spot in the match was when Dawkins had Riddle pinned and Otis broke up the pin by body splashing onto Dawkins’ back. Angelo, my dude: You just had 330 pounds added to your pin! Just stay there!

After the match, The Profits returned to the ring for a red solo cup celebration with RK-Bro, inviting 21-year-old WWE rookie Gable Steveson to the ring to join them. However …

What’s next: … Chad Gable returned to the ring and slapped the cup out of Steveson’s hand. Chad told him to “Shoosh!” Steveson suplexed him. And now we have a first feud, between two former Olympians. As for RK-Bro, they could use a fresh feud after this three-way dance.

Triple H Opens The Show

Former WWE star Triple H opened the show with the traditional “Welcome … to WrestleMania!” growling holler, but his surprise appearance to open Night 2 was more poignant than that. After soaking in the cheers from an appreciative crowd — chanting “Thank you, Hunter” — the man known as “The Game” placed his boots in the middle of the ring, signifying the end of his in-ring career.

Triple H first made the announcement to Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take. The 52-year-old, 14-time world champion previously made an appearance on WrestleMania weekend at NXT Stand & Deliver on Saturday, joining Tommaso Ciampa on stage after his loss to Tony D’Angelo, which is expected to be Ciampa’s final NXT match.

Still to come:

Winner take all unification match: Universal champion Roman Reigns vs. WWE champion Brock Lesnar

Austin Theory vs. Pat McAfee

New Day (King Woods and Kofi Kingston) vs. Sheamus and Ridge Holland



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